St Peter’s College put up a superior performance with the bat in the quarter final of the Singer U19 Division I Cricket tournament against S Thomas’ College to earn their place in the top 4 according to the points system.
The 2nd day’s play resumed on schedule even though there was overnight rain. Peterites had their noses in front with 180 for 4 on the board thanks to an unbeaten partnership between Lakshina Rodrigo and Shalith Fernando at stumps on Day 1. The pair added 81 runs for the 5th wicket with Shalith Fernando scoring 68 runs.
The 5th wicket fell when the score was 207 and from then it was a dominant batting display by Lakshina Rodrigo and Ranmith Jayasena. The pair piled up the runs, taking away all chances of a Thomian victory. Thomian skipper Romesh Nallapperuma tried all his tricks but nothing could break the partnership.
Lakshina and Ranmith added an unbeaten 174 runs for the 6th wicket with Lakshina Rodrigo scoring an unbeaten 113 and at the other end Ranmith Jayasena a brisk 69. The Peterites declared their innings at 381 for 5 in 105 overs.
Then to everyone’s surprise, Thomian skipper Romesh Nallapperuma decided not to continue the match and let St Peter’s College take the win according to the points method. St Peter’s College, the join defending champions will meet Thurstan College, Richmond College and Ananda College in the top 4 who will fight for the league title in the coming weeks.
Earlier, Romesh Nallapperuma won the toss and elected to field first. It was a delayed start due to wet ground conditions as play began at 1.00PM in the afternoon. Peterites started slowly but they held their nerve and batted through the day. Santhush Gunathilaka laid the foundation at the top with a half-ton and then the Partnership between Lakshina Rodrigo and Shalith Fernando gave them the edge at stumps on Day 1.
St. Peters College, Colombo 381/5d (105) Lakshina Rodrigo 113*, Shalith Fernando 68, Santhush Gunathilaka 59, Ranmith Jayasena 69*, Pavith Rathnayake 2/92, Shanen Fernando 2/69
