The 119th Battle of the North between Jaffna Central College and St. John’s College, Jaffna commenced today (05th March) at the Jaffna Central College Grounds.
Antanreshan Abishek won the toss and put St. John’s College into bat. Openers Satkunarajah Vinukshan and Uthayanan Abijoyshanth braved the first hour as the bowlers managed to make the most of the conditions.
That was until right-arm pacer Murali Thison returned for his second spell and trapped Abijoyshanth in front in the 16th over. He doubled the dose in the 18th over when he dismissed Vinukshan for 22, which ended up being the highest individual score for St. John’s.
Jeeva Abisan and Murfin Randyo offered brief resistance to have their side two down for 68 at one point. However, the batting crumbled thereafter as Murali went about his work. He was ably supported by leg-spinner Valantean Haris, with the pair accounting for eight St. John’s wickets as they were rolled over for 119 in the 42nd over. Murali Thison finished with figures of 5 for 39.
The reply from Jaffna Central was a near carbon copy of the St. John’s innings, with the openers seeing off the new ball before the innings quickly imploded, with Ganeshamoothy Kawshikan foxing the Jaffna Central batsmen.
He was nicely complemented by off-spinner Murfin Randyo, as the pair finished with figures of 5 for 41 and 3 for 19 respectively.
Antanreshan Abishek was the only batsman to show any impetus, top-scoring with 23 off 20, as his side was bundled out for just 95, giving St. John’s a first-innings lead of 24, which could be crucial in these conditions.
The openers saw off the final two overs until the close to give St. John’s a clean slate as they look to set a challenging target for their opponents when play resumes tomorrow.
 at the Jaffna Central College Grounds.){kind=link}