A turnaround of events put Jaffna Central in the driving seat, with St John’s crumbling to 8 for 4 in their second innings in the 112th Battle of the North at Jaffna Central grounds.
Jaffna Central resumed play with 43 for 1 on board. Jayatharsan and Nishan put together 53 runs for the 2nd wicket. Nishan was dismissed for 30 runs but Jayatharsan was solid as a rock on the other end as he anchored the innings for the home side.
He found good support from Iyalarasan who chipped in with 22 runs but Jayatharsan stole the spot light with a brilliant 77 off 206 deliveries. The innings of Mathushan gave the jumpstart the innings needed as he came out with intent and stroked 4 boundaries and 4 maximums in his blistering knock of 52 off just 37 deliveries. St John’s got a double strike with both Mathushan and Jayatharshan being dismissed by Abinash, which put Jaffna Central under pressure at 204 for 5.
Photo Album – Jaffna Central College vs St. John’s College | 112th Battle of the North – Day 2
Then came another counter attacking partnership between Thasopan and Rajclinton. Both batters played with good intent but the skipper Thasopan with the half century in sight, gave away his wicket at 49. Rajclinton though took the responsibility and carried his bat through the innings to remain unbeaten on 54. Jaffna Central ended their innings on 328 with a healthy lead of 111 runs.
St John’s had 6 overs to survive until stumps but they made a mess of their innings with some lackluster batting and thanks to some tight, aggressive bowling from the home side. St John’s lost their opener Sawmiyan who was helped off the ground due to a knee injury. This caused a collapse in the batting as wickets tumbled in quick succession. Joel Piraveen was the first to fall for a duck off the bowling of Mathushan.
Sujan on the other end got two in two as he found the edge of Elshan Dinushan, who was caught smartly by the skipper Thasopan at gully. The next delivery saw Abinash dragging the ball onto his leg stump to be dismissed for a golden duck. Sawmiyan, who retired hurt due to injury, walked back out to the crease but failed to see off the day. It was Mathushan who found the inside edge and Nishan, who was at short leg, plucked the ball out of the thin air to create more misery for the St John’s camp.
With a deficit of 103 runs against them, St John’s will be under immense pressure coming into the third and final day of the 112th Battle of the North.
