The 76th Battle of the Golds between St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa and Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa commenced today (06th March) at the Tyronne Fernando Cricket Stadium in Moratuwa, with St. Sebastian’s posting a competitive first innings total before Prince of Wales safely negotiated the final overs on Day One.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, St. Sebastian’s College made a steady start through their openers Thivanka Fernando and Kaveesha Perera. The pair showed patience against disciplined new ball bowling, putting on 40 runs for the opening wicket before Fernando was the first to depart for 20.
Perera continued to anchor the innings with a composed knock of 35 off 103 deliveries, but wickets fell around him as Prince of Wales gradually worked their way into the contest. Captain Adesh Almeida chipped in with 21, while Lashan Fernando was unable to build on his start and fell for 6.
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The innings was held together by Chamath Wellalage, who played the standout knock of the day for the Sebastians. The left hander struck a well compiled 58 off 90 balls, including five boundaries and a six, helping his side recover after a middle order wobble.
Support came from Sendinu Demitha Peiris with 16 and Shefan Fernando who contributed a brisk 24, but regular breakthroughs prevented St. Sebastian’s from building a larger total. The innings eventually came to an end at 214 in 78.3 overs.
Prince of Wales shared the wickets around with several bowlers making valuable contributions. Nethul Anuhas was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 for 48 from a probing spell, while Rusandu Silva also claimed 3 wickets for 39 runs. Oshan De Silva and Nadul Aponsu chipped in with a wicket apiece to keep the opposition in check.
In reply, Prince of Wales College began cautiously against a disciplined St. Sebastian’s bowling attack late in the day. The opening pair of Palingu Perera and Sethika Wijethunga adopted a patient approach, focusing on seeing off the new ball under testing conditions.
The Sebastians’ bowlers maintained tight lines and created pressure, but the Prince of Wales openers remained resolute and ensured there were no breakthroughs before stumps.
At the close of play, Prince of Wales College were 6 for no loss after 9 overs, with Perera unbeaten on 2 and Wijethunga not out on 3.
St. Sebastian’s will look to make early inroads when play resumes on the second day, while Prince of Wales will aim to build a solid foundation as they attempt to overhaul the first innings total.
Match Summary
St. Sebastian’s College – 214 all out (78.3 overs)
Chamath Wellalage 58, M. Kaveesha Perera 35, W. Shefan Fernando 24, P. D. Adesh Sonal Almeida 21M. Nethul Anuhas 3/48, S. Rusandu Thawasara Silva 3/39
Prince of Wales’ College – 6/0 (9 overs)
P. Perera 2*, S. Wijethunga 3*
Prince of Wales’ College trail by 208 runs at Stumps on Day One.
 at the Tyronne Fernando Cricket Stadium in Moratuwa, with St. Sebastian’s posting a competitive first innings total before Prince of Wales safely negotiated the final overs on Day One.){kind=link}