St. Benedict’s College, Kotahena qualified for the SLSCA Under 19 Twenty20 Tournament finals when they defeated Lumbini College by 75 runs in their semi-final encounter played at St. Peter’s College grounds on Wednesday.
Lumbini College skipper Tharushan Iddamalgoda won the toss and elected to field on an overcast day. The Benedictine openers Mahel Jayalath and Thulina Dilshan scored powering half tons which enabled them to post a competitive score of 148 for 5 in the end of their 20 overs. Right-handed Dilshan was the main aggressor as he took only 54 balls for his knock of 71. Lumbini captain Tharushan took 3 wickets for 15 runs.
Chasing a challenging target of 149, Lumbini batting lineup failed to succumb to the pressure as they were folded to only 73 runs with 5 overs to spare. Left-handed Thanuka Dabare was the only player to make a substantial score when he made 25 runs. Right-arm fast bowler Geethal Fernando picked up 4 wickets for just 11 runs while off-spinner Navod Abeysinghe picked up 3 scalps.
The in-form St. Benedict’s College outfit will battle with the strong St. Peter’s College team for the Schools T20 crown 2015 on 9th April afternoon at R. Premadasa Stadium. Lumbini College will fight for the 3rd place when they take on S. Thomas’ College in the morning of the same day.
Chief Scores:
St. Benedicts College – 148/5 in 20 overs: Thulina Dilshan 71, Mahel Jayalath 51, Tharushan Iddamalgoda 3/15.
Lumbini College – 73 all out in 15 overs: Thanuka Dabare 25, Geethal Fernando 4/11, Navod Abeysinghe 3/15.
