The 143rd Battle of the Blues Cricket encounter between Royal College, Colombo and S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia ended in a drab draw at SSC Grounds on Saturday.
The Thomians somewhat took major honours in a very slow-paced encounter which was never meant to turn into a result. After being asked to bat first, S. Thomas’ mustered 242, and in reply, Royal made 219 for 8 declared. S. Thomas’ ended on 142 for 6 in their second essay.
Resuming day three on 136 for 4, Royal lost their overnight batter, Uvindu Weerasekara, who managed to add only 4 runs before he was caught at slips by Kavindu Dias. Ramiru Perera lived a charmed life, scoring 34 runs off 114 deliveries, but was dropped several times. Nethil Panapitiya and Sandesh Ramanayake made 27 and 21 respectively to take Royal over the 200-run mark.
The Thomian seamers – Kavindu Dias, Caniston Gunarathnam and Akash Fernando – were amongst the wickets as the Royalists made a sporty declaration after lunch with 23 runs shy from the first innings score of S. Thomas’.
With a 23-run lead, S. Thomas’ began their second innings and made their intentions clear as they wanted to bat time. However, Royal Skipper Gishan Balasooriya, the left-arm Spinner and Seamer Dan Poddiwela removed the inexperienced S. Thomas’ top order cheaply to put the cat among the pigeons.
Photos – 143rd Battle of the Blues – Royal College vs S. Thomas’ College – Day 2
The school by the sea was in dire straits on 23 for 3, but their Skipper Ryan Fernando batted with authority, scoring 10 fours during his excellent 117-run 74 to take S. Thomas’ out of danger. Off-spinner Sadisha Rajapaksa chipped in with a few more wickets late in the day, but the drab draw was inevitable.
The Mustangs Trophy encounter, the 50-over match between these two teams, will be played on the 30th of July at the same venue.
Brief Scores:
S. Thomas’ – 242 (106.2 overs): Senesh Hettiarachchi 55, Charuka Peiris 51, Mahith Perera 33, Gishan Balasooriya 3/56, Sandesh Ramanayake 2/16, Ramiru Perera 2/36.
Royal – 219/8 dec (70.4 overs): Uvindu Weerasekara 66, Ramiru Perera 34, Sineth Jayawardene 32, Kavindu Dias 4/65, Caniston Gunarathnam 2/67.
S. Thomas’ (2nd Inn) – 142/6 (64 overs): Ryan Fernando 74, Senesh Hettiarachchi 26, Gishan Balasooriya 3/56, Sadisha Rajapaksa 2/30.
Individual Awards:
- Best Fielder – Sadisha Rajapaksa (Royal)
- Best Bowler – Kavindu Dias (S. Thomas’)
- Best Batsman – Uvindu Weerasekara (Royal)
- Man of the Match – Ryan Fernando (S. Thomas’)
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senadhi Bulankulama | lbw b Dasis Manchanayake | 18 | 85 | 1 | 0 | 21.18 |
| Janidu Abegoonawardena | c & b Ramiru Perera | 28 | 93 | 2 | 0 | 30.11 |
| Dineth Gunawardena | run out (Sadisha Rajapaksha) | 12 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 48.00 |
| RAYAN FERNANDO | c Dasis Manchanayake b Gishan Balasuriya | 18 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 58.06 |
| MUIZZ NAUSHAN | b Gishan Balasuriya | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14.29 |
| Senesh Hettiarachchi | c & b Ramiru Perera | 55 | 118 | 7 | 0 | 46.61 |
| Charuka Peiris | lbw b Sandesh Ramanayaka | 51 | 151 | 5 | 0 | 33.77 |
| Mahith Perera | c Dasis Manchanayake b Gishan Balasuriya | 33 | 83 | 2 | 0 | 39.76 |
| Gunaratnam Caniston | b Bulan Weerathunga | 3 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Akash Fernando | c Sadisha Rajapaksha b Sandesh Ramanayaka | 6 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 27.27 |
| Kavindu Dais | not out | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 17 (b 7 , lb 6 , nb 0, w 4, pen 0) |
| Total | 242/10 (106.2 Overs, RR: 2.28) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Poddiwela | 14 | 3 | 36 | 0 | 2.57 | |
| Sandesh Ramanayaka | 12 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 1.33 | |
| Gishan Balasuriya | 31.2 | 11 | 56 | 3 | 1.79 | |
| Bulan Weerathunga | 12 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 2.42 | |
| Sadisha Rajapaksha | 21 | 4 | 34 | 0 | 1.62 | |
| Ramiru Perera | 9 | 1 | 36 | 2 | 4.00 | |
| Dasis Manchanayake | 7 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 3.14 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanvidu Senartharachchi | lbw b Kavindu Dais | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 12.50 |
| Sineth Jayawardena | c MUIZZ NAUSHAN b Janidu Abegoonawardena | 32 | 38 | 6 | 0 | 84.21 |
| Sadisha Rajapaksha | c Senesh Hettiarachchi b Kavindu Dais | 5 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 41.67 |
| Uvindu Weerasekara | c RAYAN FERNANDO b Kavindu Dais | 66 | 109 | 9 | 0 | 60.55 |
| Dasis Manchanayake | lbw b Gunaratnam Caniston | 17 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 54.84 |
| Ramiru Perera | b Akash Fernando | 34 | 114 | 3 | 0 | 29.82 |
| Nethil Panapitiya | c Mahith Perera b Gunaratnam Caniston | 27 | 73 | 0 | 0 | 36.99 |
| Sandesh Ramanayaka | c Charuka Peiris b Kavindu Dais | 21 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 61.76 |
| Gishan Balasuriya | not out | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14.29 |
| Extras | 15 (b 1 , lb 5 , nb 2, w 2, pen 5) |
| Total | 219/8 (70.4 Overs, RR: 3.1) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gunaratnam Caniston | 23 | 1 | 67 | 2 | 2.91 | |
| Kavindu Dais | 17.4 | 2 | 65 | 4 | 3.74 | |
| Akash Fernando | 9 | 1 | 33 | 1 | 3.67 | |
| Janidu Abegoonawardena | 4 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1.50 | |
| Charuka Peiris | 6 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 3.67 | |
| RAYAN FERNANDO | 11 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 1.36 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senadhi Bulankulama | c Sineth Jayawardena b Dan Poddiwela | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Janidu Abegoonawardena | c Uvindu Weerasekara b Gishan Balasuriya | 7 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 18.42 |
| Dineth Gunawardena | b Gishan Balasuriya | 1 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 2.33 |
| RAYAN FERNANDO | c Sadisha Rajapaksha b Gishan Balasuriya | 74 | 117 | 10 | 0 | 63.25 |
| MUIZZ NAUSHAN | lbw b Sadisha Rajapaksha | 11 | 71 | 0 | 0 | 15.49 |
| Senesh Hettiarachchi | c Sandesh Ramanayaka b Sadisha Rajapaksha | 26 | 65 | 2 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Mahith Perera | not out | 8 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 34.78 |
| Gunaratnam Caniston | not out | 11 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 64.71 |
| Extras | 2 (b 0 , lb 1 , nb 0, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 142/6 (64 Overs, RR: 2.22) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Poddiwela | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0.75 | |
| Sandesh Ramanayaka | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| Bulan Weerathunga | 4 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 4.25 | |
| Sadisha Rajapaksha | 18 | 7 | 30 | 2 | 1.67 | |
| Gishan Balasuriya | 20 | 5 | 56 | 3 | 2.80 | |
| Ramiru Perera | 13 | 2 | 32 | 0 | 2.46 | |
| Dasis Manchanayake | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1.50 | |
