Sri Jayawardhanapura University emerged victorious by 4 wickets in the final of the Inter university Cricket tournament against University of Jaffna at Colombo University grounds.
Northerners were the ones who took the first lease of the wicket. They had a horrible start after loosing quick wickets to the new ball. Karunarathne bowled a brilliant spell for J’pura as they strangled the visitors by its neck. The lads from Jaffna showed grit and determination but it was hard a grind for them.
Yoheshwaran top scored with 48 runs in 89 balls while all rounder and former Jaffna Central College player Kapilraj chipped in with a valuable cameo of 35 runs. However the main highlight of this innings was the spell from Karunarathne who bagged 4 for 22. Galahitiyawa and Fernando bagged 2 wickets each as University of Jaffna were restricted to a below par score of 171 for 9 in their 50 overs.
The chase was well composed by the strong J’pura batting line up. They knew what they were up against and they slowly accumulated the runs and got over the line. Sandakelum was the top scorer with an unbeaten 35 while Sahan Wedisinghe chipped in with a valuable 30.
Logatheswar and Jananathan bagged 2 wickets each for the notherners but they just didn’t have enough runs on the board to create any pressure on their opponents. University of Sri Jayawardhanapura got over the line with 31 balls to spare and 4 wickets in hand.
University of Jaffna 171 for 9 in 50 overs: Yoheshwaran 48, Kapilraj 35, Karunarathne 4/22, Galahitiyawa 2/30
University of Sri Jayawardhanapura 172 for 6 in 44.5 overs: Sandakelum 35*, Sahan Wedisinghe 30, Logatheswar 2/26, Jananathan 2/29
