St Peters College clashed with Maristella College for their second match of the new year. Continuing their form from the previous matches the boys from Bambalapitiya put up another strong performance from the bat after being put to bat by the visitors.
From the beginning of the match the Peterites were dominating the proceedings. The two openers got them off to a flying start as they put together a strong opening partnership. Dineth Thimodya the only centurion in the side this season scored 53 runs and his partner Hashan Wanasekara 75 runs, his highest for the season.
The middle order also chipped in with little cameos, namely Lakshina Rodrigo 39 runs and Thaneesha Weerakoon 22 runs. Ultimately they ended with a formidable first innings score of 262 all out in just 68.5 overs. In the bowling department for Maristella College Senal Perera bagged 4 wickets for 51 runs and Sachindu Maduwantha took 4 wickets for 79. One might think St. Peter’s College should have scored a lot more after that brilliant start. Credit should be given to Maristella College bowlers for restricting the home side for a score under 300.
The boys from Negombo came onto bat with a hard task ahead of them. They had to build partnerships right through out their innings if they were to overcome this challenge. But they were unable to do so as wickets started to tumble right from the start. Peterite bowlers were right on the money from the word go. They did not allow the visitors to settle down, kept on taking wickets and putting Maristella College under huge pressure. The star with the ball for St. Peter’s College was Thaneesha Weerakoon bagging his first fifer of the season. He finished with figures of 5 for 9 runs. Vinu Mohotti also chipped in with a good spell of bowling. He ended up with figures of 2 for 1 run. The visitors were bowled out for just 64 runs in 24 overs. If not for Avantha Silva’s 38 runs they would have struggled to even get to 50. Day one ended with St. Peter’s having the upper hand.
Maristella was forced to follow on in the second day after that poor performance with bat in the first innings. Trailing by 198 runs the boys from Negombo had a mammoth task ahead of them. In the second innings they were up for the challenge. They batted with intent and courage. But St. Peter’s College bowlers were constantly putting pressure on their opponents. Ultimately the home side proved to be too strong for the visitors to endure as they were bundled out for just 225 runs giving St. Peter’s College a target of 28 runs. With the bat in the second innings for Maristella College Sachindu Maduwantha and Srimath Jeewana scored 51 runs each and Ravindu Fernando chipped in with 41 runs. The man of the match undoubtedly was Thaneesha Weerakoon of St. Peter’s College. The young off spinner bagged 9 wickets for just 57 in the game. He missed out on a ten wicket haul but he made his mark by this great performance. His second innings figures were 4 for 48. Ashanth Malka bagged 4 for 42 bowling his left arm off spinners.
St Peter’s College came out to bat in the second innings with a target of just 28 runs. Even though they lost Dineth Thimodya early on, they showed their dominance as they chipped off the runs easily with 9 wickets intact. This was their second outright for the season. By far their best performance for the season.
Chief Scores:
St. Peter’s College (1st inn) – 262 all out 68.5 overs: Hashan Wanasekara 75, Dineth Thimodya 53, Lakshina Rodrigo 39, Thaneesha Weerakoon 22, Sachindu Maduwantha 4/79, Senal Perera 4/51.
Maristella College (1st inn) – 64 all out 26 overs: Avantha Silva 38 , Thaneesha Weerakoon 5/9, Vinu Mohotti 2/1.
Maris Stella College (2nd inn) – 225 all out 75.1 overs: Sachindu Maduwantha 51, Srimath Jeewana 51, Ravindu Fernando 41, Thaneesha Weerakoon 4/48, Ashanth Malka 4/42.
St. Peter’s College (2nd inn) – 30/1 in 13.4 overs.
