Richmond College Galle look set to build up a good first innings lead after having bowled out Prince of Wales College for 206 runs in their first innings on the opening day of their inter school under 19 cricket tournament match which commenced at the De Soysa Stadium in Moratuwa today.
The visitors then got their act together well to reach 173 for five wickets at the end following some excellent batting from their top order comprising of Sithara Gimhana and Charith Asalanka.
Even then it was their main strike bowler Varuna Deshappriya who really brought Richmond College into recognition while producing a penetrative spell of bowling under tough conditions.
In fact the Cambrians who were put into bat got off to a flying start and at one stage they were heading towards a much bigger total after Shanuka Vithanawasam struck an elegant half century in almost even time.
The stylish opening batsman made full use of some pretty ordinary seam bowling from the opposition to hit a top score of 70 runs while also putting on a substantial partnership along with his teammate Ashen Mendis (44).
However with the introduction of Varuna Deshappriya into the attack the game took a dramatic change as Prince of Wales College lost wickets at regular intervals and were eventually dismissed for 206 runs from 53 overs.
Deshappriya produced a variation of deliveries to mesmerize the Cambrian batsmen as he went on to steal the limelight while returning outstanding bowling figures of six wickets for 79 runs.
Richmond College then went about their task in their own style with opener Sithara Gimhana and Charith Asalanka spearheading the run chase while executing two splendid knocks.
Gimhana struck exactly fifty runs almost from the same number of deliveries while Asalanka fell just three runs short of a half century after having dominated the bowling during the final session.
Even then Richmond College finished the day in a strong position with just 33 runs away from taking a first innings lead with five wickets still in hand.
Prince of Wales College of course were able to put a halt to the run flow to a certain extent with the two spinners Sajith Pushpakumara and Shanuka Vithanawasam capturing two wickets each.
Prince of Wales College: 206 (Shanuka Vithanawasam 70, Ashen Mendis 44, Varuna Deshappriya 6 for 79)
Richmond College: 173 for 5 (Sithara Gimhana 50, Charith Asalanka 47, Sajith Pushpakumara 2 for 24, Shanuka Vithanawasam 2 for 20)
