S. Thomas’ College came out on top on the first day of the 135th annual Battle of the Blues at the SSC today.
The age old spectacle got underway in dramatic fashion, as the coin for the toss was delivered to the grounds via a paramotor from the Sri Lankan Army. S. Thomas’ College proceeded to win the toss of this coin, and had no hesitation in deciding to bowl first. Having lost the D. S. Senanayake shield to Royal College the previous year, the onus was on the Thomians to make aggressive plays, and the opportunity to bundle out Royal cheaply was seized with both hands.
The Royal top order consisted mainly of freshers, and some would argue that the momentous nature of the occasion got to them. However there is no arguing that It was top quality bowling on by the Thomian pacers, as they set the tone for the game quite convincingly.
Akthab Cader and Sahan Wijesinghe opened the bowling for the Thomians, and the pair immediately set about putting the Royalist on the back foot –literally- with some sharp short bowling. It was the fuller deliveries that got the wickets however, with Akthab Cader being the first to strike, trapping opener Shaminda Dias in front of the wicket. The Royalists were unable to get a move on against some quality Thomian bowling, with Cader striking again in two successive deliveries, and then being joined by Wijesinghe to have Royal reeling with four wickets down.
The post lunch session started off drastically for the Reid Avenue boys, as batsmen came and went in an extremely quick procession. In no time at all, they were at 59 for 8, and were looking at a disastrous first innings score. It was up to the ninth wicket pair of Thiran Dhanapala and Harith Samarasinghe to resuscitate the Royalist innings, and the pair did so admirably. The pair put on a 95 run stand for the 9th wicket, frustrating the Thomian bowlers and reviving the hope of the Royalist supporters. Smarasinghe went on to make an admirable half century, but perhaps was distracted by the mob of supporters that swallowed him up once he reached his milestone. He was dismissed immediately afterwards for 50, and it didn’t take the Thomians long to snatch the last remaining wicket. The Royalists ended up on a total of 158, a subpar score, but one that might have been much worse.
The Thomians came out looking to be positive, with opening batsman Rashmika Opatha taking on the Royalist bowling. He was dismissed after a quick-fire 21. The Thomian keeper Sanesh De Mel then joined opening batsman Yohan Mendis, and the pair guided the Thomian total to 75 before Mendis was bowled by Royal skipper Chamika Karunaratne.
Deputy skipper Thilaksha Sumanasiri then joined De Mel, and the pair look set to guide the Thomians to close of play, but Sumanisiri was dismissed against the run of play; holing out in the deep while attempting to pull a Heshan Ramanayake delivery. Helakamal Nanayakkara then walked in, and the Thomians made it to close without any further mishaps, ending the day on 134 for the loss of three wickets. Sanesh De Mel remains unbeaten on 40, and the Thomians will walk out on the second day looking to force a result. Royal are capable of making a comeback but for now, damage control will be their priority.
