Schools T20 defending champs, S. Thomas’ College was knocked out by St. Peter’s College on Saturday at the R. Premadasa Stadium in their semi-final encounter.
St Peter’s after that massive win against Richmond College in their quarter finals few days back was determined go further in this tournament. S. Thomas’ College in the other hand been the defending champions and after a close game against the Nalandians in their quarter finals had to keep up to the expectations.
Toss was won by the Thomian skipper Helakamal Nanayakkara and undoubtedly they decided to bat first. St Peter’s consist of a strong bowling line up went hard at the top order. The pressure of the occasion and the pressure given by the Peterite bowlers got to them in no time as the wickets started to tumble. St Peters captain Chandula Jayamanna led from the front by taking 2 wickets and just conceding 19 runs. He was backed up well by the rest of the bowlers. They managed to control the run flow and take wickets at regular intervals not letting the defending champions get away with easy runs. Vinu Mohotti and Ravindu Silva bagged two wickets each helping St Peters to restrict the Thomians for just 127 for 8 in their 20 overs. With the bat for S. Thomas’, hard-hitting Sachitha Jayathilaka top scored with 26 runs and Dilendra Gunathilake chipped in with an unbeaten 20 at the latter stages of their innings.
The Peterites came on to bat with a fairly easy target in front of them. Their big gun at the top Dineth Thimodya after a blistering knock in the previous match failed to trouble the scoreboard as much as he did last time around. St Peter’s clearly showed how talented they are and the fact that they do not depend on one player. Chandula Jayamanna taking control after that early loss of Dineth, steered his team home with an unbeaten knock of 43 runs. Savin Gunasekara scored a valuable 28 runs as St. Peters successfully chased down this target in just 13.4 overs for the loss of 4 wickets. With the ball for the school by the sea, Nipuna Gamage bagged 2 for 29.
Chief Scores:
S.Thomas’ – 127/8 in 20 overs overs: Sachitha Jayathilake 28, Dilendra Gunathilake 20*, Vinu Mohotti 2/21, Ravindu Silva 2/25, Chandula Jayamanna 2/19.
St Peter’s – 130/4 in 13.4 overs: Chandula Jaamanna 43*, Savin Gunasekara 28, Nipuna Gamage 2/29.
