S. Thomas’ College reclaimed the Hon. D.S. Senanayake Shield after an emphatic 5-wicket victory over their long-standing arch-rivals, Royal College.
Day three began with Royal College resuming their second innings after bundling out S. Thomas’ the previous evening. Openers Hirun Liyanarachchi and Rehan Peiris got off to a positive start, capitalizing on anything loose.
Following Liyanarachchi’s dismissal, Peiris combined with Vimath Dinsara to steady Royal’s innings. Dinsara played a quick-fire knock of 35, while Peiris continued his fine form in the Royal-Thomian, bringing up a well-compiled half-century. Skipper Ramiru Perera joined the party with a brisk, run-a-ball fifty after a couple of quick wickets.
Just as Royal seemed to be in control, Darien Diego produced a moment of magic, securing a stunning hat-trick—only the third by a Thomian in Royal-Thomian history. Diego’s heroics forced Royal into a quick declaration, setting up an exciting final session.
The declaration left S. Thomas’ chasing 233 runs, setting the stage for a thrilling finish. The Thomian openers didn’t have the ideal start, with Avinash Fernando falling cheaply. However, Sadev Soysa played the innings of his life, smashing a blistering 52 off just 32 balls.
Despite the quick dismissals of Soysa and Gunasinghe, Dineth Goonewardene and Reshon Solomons took charge, guiding S. Thomas’ to a historic victory. Goonewardene carried his fine form from the first innings, while 15-year-old Solomons showed remarkable composure under immense pressure.
This triumph will go down as one of the most remarkable wins in Thomian history, mirroring the dramatic turnaround seen in the 2016 Battle of the Blues, where Royal clinched victory despite trailing in the first innings.
With plenty more excitement to come this big match season, stay tuned to Sri Lanka’s No.1 Sports Channel, ThePapare, for all the live action!
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rehan Peris | c Reshon Solomons b Darien Marlon Diego | 158 | 220 | 21 | 3 | 71.82 |
| Hirun Liyanarachchi | b Kavindu Dias | 9 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 64.29 |
| Isula Geeganage | lbw b Kavindu Dias | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 |
| Vimath Dinsara | c Jaden Amaraweera b Aaron De Silva | 25 | 71 | 3 | 0 | 35.21 |
| Ramiru Perera | c Yowel Warnakulasuriya b Darien Diego | 15 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 51.72 |
| Thevindu Wewalwala | c & b Dineth Gunawardena | 48 | 83 | 6 | 0 | 57.83 |
| Yasindu Dissanayake | not out | 25 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 108.70 |
| Sehandu Sooriyaarachchi | b Aaron De Silva | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 8.33 |
| Ranuka Malaviarachchi | not out | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Extras | 30 (b 19 , lb 0 , nb 5, w 6, pen 0) |
| Total | 319/7 (78 Overs, RR: 4.09) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kavindu Dias | 20 | 3 | 71 | 2 | 3.55 | |
| Jaden Amaraweera | 9 | 2 | 30 | 1 | 3.33 | |
| Ayman Anzary | 8 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 3.88 | |
| Aaron De Silva | 12 | 1 | 65 | 1 | 5.42 | |
| Dineth Gunawardena | 15 | 0 | 60 | 1 | 4.00 | |
| Darien Marlon Diego | 14 | 1 | 43 | 2 | 3.07 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaden Amaraweera | lbw b Ranuka Malaviarachchi | 31 | 62 | 6 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Avinash Fernando | c Vimath Dinsara b Ranuka Malaviarachchi | 50 | 104 | 7 | 0 | 48.08 |
| Sadev Soysa | c Sandul Abeywardene b Thevindu Wewalwala | 28 | 82 | 1 | 1 | 34.15 |
| Dineth Goonewardene | c & b Ramiru Perera | 119 | 165 | 17 | 1 | 72.12 |
| Mithila Charles | c Yasindu Dissanayake b Ranuka Malaviarachchi | 7 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 21.21 |
| Reshon Solomons | c Sandul Abeywardene b Ramiru Perera | 17 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 56.67 |
| Sachithra Gunasinghe | c Vimath Dinsara b Ramiru Perera | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Darien Diego | c Vimath Dinsara b Sandul Abeywardene | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kavindu Dias | not out | 37 | 100 | 5 | 0 | 37.00 |
| Aaron De Silva | b Ramiru Perera | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Ayman Anzary | lbw b Ramiru Perera | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 13 (b 0 , lb 6 , nb 1, w 6, pen 0) |
| Total | 302/10 (103 Overs, RR: 2.93) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranuka Malaviarachchi | 23 | 7 | 72 | 3 | 3.13 | |
| Kuchila Ranmandala | 20 | 8 | 46 | 0 | 2.30 | |
| Sandul Abeywardene | 11 | 1 | 54 | 1 | 4.91 | |
| Sehandu Sooriyaarachchi | 18 | 2 | 45 | 0 | 2.50 | |
| Ramiru Perera | 22 | 4 | 58 | 5 | 2.64 | |
| Hirun Liyanarachchi | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1.50 | |
| Thevindu Wewalwala | 3 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 3.33 | |
| Vimath Dinsara | 4 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 3.25 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rehan Peiris | lbw b Darien Diego | 53 | 113 | 2 | 1 | 46.90 |
| Hirun Liyanarachchi | run out (Ayman Anzary) | 37 | 68 | 5 | 1 | 54.41 |
| Vimath Dinsara | b Dineth Goonewardene | 35 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 166.67 |
| Isula Geeganage | c Kavindu Dias b Dineth Goonewardene | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Ramiru Perera | c Sadev Soysa b Darien Diego | 50 | 53 | 4 | 1 | 94.34 |
| Thevindu Wewalwala | c Dineth Goonewardene b Darien Diego | 13 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 56.52 |
| Yasindu Dissanayake | not out | 17 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 113.33 |
| Sehandu Sooriyaarachchi | lbw b Darien Diego | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Ranuka Malaviarachchi | b Darien Diego | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Sandul Abeywardene | not out | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 11.11 |
| Extras | 9 (b 5 , lb 0 , nb 2, w 2, pen 0) |
| Total | 215/8 (51 Overs, RR: 4.22) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kavindu Dias | 7 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 5.29 | |
| Aaron De Silva | 18 | 3 | 73 | 0 | 4.06 | |
| Ayman Anzary | 4 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3.50 | |
| Dineth Goonewardene | 11 | 0 | 51 | 2 | 4.64 | |
| Darien Diego | 11 | 0 | 40 | 5 | 3.64 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaden Amaraweera | b Ramiru Perera | 48 | 65 | 8 | 0 | 73.85 |
| Avinash Fernando | c Vimath Dinsara b Ranuka Malaviarachchi | 5 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Mithila Charles | lbw b Ramiru Perera | 26 | 38 | 2 | 1 | 68.42 |
| Sadev Soysa | c Vimath Dinsara b Ramiru Perera | 52 | 32 | 4 | 3 | 162.50 |
| Dineth Goonewardene | not out | 50 | 47 | 1 | 0 | 106.38 |
| Sachithra Gunasinghe | lbw b Ranuka Malaviarachchi | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Reshon Solomons | not out | 50 | 47 | 5 | 0 | 106.38 |
| Extras | 2 (b 0 , lb 0 , nb 0, w 2, pen 0) |
| Total | 233/5 (40.5 Overs, RR: 5.71) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranuka Malaviarachchi | 11 | 1 | 63 | 2 | 5.73 | |
| Kuchila Ranmandala | 4 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 4.25 | |
| Sandul Abeywardene | 7 | 1 | 32 | 0 | 4.57 | |
| Sehandu Sooriyaarachchi | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 4.67 | |
| Ramiru Perera | 12.5 | 0 | 79 | 3 | 6.32 | |
| Thevindu Wewalwala | 3 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 9.33 | |
