Akhen De Alwis starred as Thurstan College downed Isipathana College by 59 runs to clinch the 46th Battle of the Brothers – Limited Over Encounter today (8th March) at the P. Sara Oval.
It was the boys in green who won the toss and elected to field first on a slow P. Sara surface. Their decision paid early dividends as Yesindu Maneesha and Ashel Walgamage troubled the Thurstanite openers early, sending both of them back to the sheds by the 8th over.
Dimuthu Tharuka continued the good work, grabbing two quick scalps of his own to leave the batting side at 58 for 4 in the 15th over.
Aken De Alwis was joined by Sethru Fernando, and the pair steadied the ship for their team, putting on 66 runs for the fifth wicket before De Alwis was dismissed for 66, the top score for Thurstan.
Fernando continued to battle on as he brought up his half-century, but wickets at regular intervals from Isipathana managed to restrict the Thurstanites to 182 inside 46 overs, with Tharuka the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4 for 38.
In reply, Isipathana made a dream start to what should have been a straightforward chase, with their openers braving the new ball and putting on 70 runs for the first wicket.
From then on, it was all about Thurstan’s bowlers, who managed to grab the game by the scruff of the neck.
Aken De Alwis backed up his half-century with a four-wicket haul, finishing with figures of 4 for 24. He was ably backed up by Thanuga Palihawadana, who finished with 3 for 22.
The rest of the wickets were shared among the spinners as Isipathana were rolled over for 123, adding just 53 runs after their opening partnership was broken, as Thurstan College clinched the 46th Battle of the Brothers limited-overs encounter.
Brief Scores
Thurstan College 182(45.2) beat Isipathana College 123(40.1) by 59 runs
 at the P. Sara Oval){kind=link}