An action packed 3rd day’s play ended with Jaffna Central clinching victory by 1 wicket after chasing down 109 in their 2nd innings in the 112th Battle of the North at Jaffna Central grounds.
Watch Replay – St. John’s College vs Jaffna Central College – 112th Battle of the North
Play resumed with St John’s in all sorts of trouble at 8 for 4 in their second innings. Skipper Jathushan joined Abinash in the morning. Abinash was the first to fall, but skipper Jathushan showed real grit and determination as he soldiered on for his side.
Jathushan and Sheropan put together a 49 run partnership when Jathushan edged one straight to first slip after reaching his half century. Then came Dinoshan who together with Sheropan, put together a half century stand for the 7th wicket. Sheropan was to fall just 4 runs short of the half century.
St John’s was still struggling at 137 for 7 when Kapilraj came on to the crease. Known for his hard hits, he came in and lived up to the expectations. He stroked 6 boundaries and 1 maximum as he reached his half century in just 35 balls. Thanks to his innings St John’s managed to set a target of 109 runs for Jaffna Central, to get in 45 overs.
The hosts had 7 overs to survive until tea, but it was that man once again Kapilraj, who came in, fired up after his knock and got two back to back wickets which put Jaffna Central in a spot of bother at 3 for 27.
They needed some resurrection and that came from another match defining innings from Mathushan. Kapilraj found the edge of his bat early in his innings but the slip fielder dropped a sitter. That was a crucial moment of the game as Mathushan went on to score a match winning knock of 53 runs
His knock came to an end when he was clean bowled by Kapilraj and the score was 87, St John’s still needing 22 runs for victory with 3 wickets in hand.
All-round performance puts Jaffna Central within touching distance of win
A turnaround of events put Jaffna Central in the driving seat, with St John’s crumbling to 8 for 4 in…
Kawthaman and Thusanthan pushed their side closer to victory but a double blow by Kapilraj and with 8 runs to get with only one wicket in hand the heat was on the home side. Thusanthan however pushed on, opting to just chip away the runs and brought down the deficit upto 3 runs.
Photos – Jaffna Central College vs St. John’s College | 112th Battle of the North – Day 1
Photos – Jaffna Central College vs St. John’s College | 112th Battle of the North – Day 2
With Kapilraj to bowl it was Thusanthan on strike, he knew he would bowl to his stumps so he walked towards the off stump and whipped the ball off his legs to the boundary to take his team home.
It was by far one of the best games in history of this battle and it was after 7 years that Jaffna Central took the trophy home.
