An all-round performance from Sandun Mendis guided Richmond College Galle to a comfortable victory against St Peter’s College in the Singer U19 Limited Overs Tournament Final that was played at the Galle International Cricket Stadium today.

After electing to bat first, Richmond were 106 for 6 when Mendis arrived at the crease to join Dilum Sudeera. The pair struggled early on against the spinners but after getting through the initial overs, they managed to keep the scoreboard ticking. Mendis was the dominant partner, as he went on to make 42 off 57 deliveries.

His partnership with Sudeera took Richmond to 201 for 9 in their allocated 50 overs. Even though they struggled to get to 201, they started off in rollicking fashion with Dhananjaya Lakshan scoring a quick fire 21. The top order batsmen got starts but some rash shots coupled with tight bowling caused a collapse in the batting line up which put them in trouble at 106 for 6.

Miflal Ameen and Kanishka Maduwantha shared 2 wickets apiece and together with Sachin Silva they did a marvelous job in restricting the run flow for the Peterites.

In reply, the Peterites made a surprise change in the batting order. Miflal Ameen walked into bat with skipper Santhush Gunathilaka. It proved to be a mistake when both Gunathilaka and Ameen was clean bowled by Dhananjaya Lakshan in the very first over.

Dhananjaya Lakshan and Santhush Gunathilake, posing with their respective Champions and Runners-Up trophies

However, Sulakshana and Shanon Fernando steadied the ship for the them as Sulakshana slammed three boundaries off Lakshan to get the score going while Shannon flicked one off his pads for a maximum. The pair were going smoothly but it was Sandun Mendis once again who came to the rescue of the Richmondites.

He struck twice in his first over, taking the wickets of Sulakshana Fernando for 25 and Ranmith Jayasena for a 2 ball duck. The Peterites were in dire straits and it did not get any better for them. One of the experienced players of the side Shalith Fernando fell shortly afterwards for 12, cleaned bowled by Mendis.

Sandun Mendis slammed a match-winning 42 with bat for Richmond College

The Peterites needed a partnership but it wasn’t the case as Mendis struck once again with the wicket of Dinith Anjula. Wickets kept tumbling as Pabasara Herath chipped one straight to mid-on off the bowling of Avindu Theekshana.

The visitors were 89 for 7 when Shanon Fernando and Kanishka Maduwantha got together for the 8th wicket. The pair added 47 runs as Shanon, after coming to the crease in the very first over, scored a well composed half century. He fell prey to Mendis as well, as the off-spinner picked up a 5-wicket haul.

The Peterite tail was given the responsibility of taking the team home but it proved to be too much despite Kanishka Maduwantha’s fighting 39.

Richmond ended up as deserving champions and it was Sandun Mendis who was unsurprisingly named Man of the Match for his performance with both bat and ball.

Sandun Mendis speaking to ThePapare.com said,

“I went in at a pressure situation. I was asked to play until the 40th  over and somehow get the total up to 150 but we put up 200 runs. In the run chase also, when Shanon and Sachin were batting our main target was to bowl dot deliveries and create pressure and ultimately we managed to get the wickets.”









Title





Full Scorecard

St.Peter's College

172/10

(46.4 overs)

Result

Richmond College

201/9

(50 overs)

RICHMOND WON BY 29 RUNS

St.Peter's College’s Innings

Batting R B
S.Gunathilake b Dhananjaya Lakshan 0 2
M.Ameen b Dhananjaya Lakshan 0 1
S.Fernando c Avindu Theekshana b Sandun Mendis 25 30
S.Fernando c Dhananjaya Lakshan b Sandun Mendis 52 91
R.Jayasena b Sandun Mendis 0 2
Shalith.F b Sandun Mendis 12 20
D.Anjula c Sammu Vimud Sapnaka b Sandun Mendis 4 16
P.Herath c Dhananjaya Lakshan b Avindu Theekshana 7 15
K.Maduwantha b Kamindu Mendis 39 68
S.Silva c Sammu Vimud Sapnaka b Avindu Theekshana 12 24
R.Senavirathna not out 1 11
Extras
20
Total
172/10 (46.4 overs)
Fall of Wickets:
1-0, 2-1, 3-47, 4-47, 5-67, 6-73, 7-89, 8-136, 9-158, 10-172
Bowling O M R W E
Dhananjaya Lakshan 4 1 22 2 5.50
Amshi de Silva 4 0 17 0 4.25
Avindu Theekshana 10 0 41 2 4.10
Sandun Mendis 10 1 20 5 2.00
Kamindu Mendis 8.4 0 25 1 2.98
Dilum Sudeera 6 0 23 0 3.83
Thaveesha Abishek 4 0 20 0 5.00

Richmond College’s Innings

Batting R B
Adithya Siriwardena c Ranmith Jayasena b Sachin Silva 27 35
Dhananjaya Lakshan c Shanon Fernando b Prabasara herath 21 13
Duveen Kalanasuriya c & b Miflal Ameen 15 35
Thaveesha Abishek c Santhush Gunathilake b Kanishka Maduwantha 17 31
Kamindu Mendis b Miflal Ameen 3 7
Dilum Sudeera st Shalith Fernando b Kanishka Maduwantha 39 85
Avindu Theekshana (runout) Sulakshana Fernando 9 9
Sandun Mendis (runout) Ruvin Senavirathne 42 57
Vimud Sapnaka (runout) Prabasara herath 4 8
Chamath Dilsara not out 7 12
Amshi de Silva not out 4 8
Extras
13
Total
201/9 (50 overs)
Fall of Wickets:
1-31, 2-60, 3-72, 4-76, 5-91, 6- 106, 7-174, 8-184, 9-191
Bowling O M R W E
S.Gunathilake 7 0 30 0 4.29
P.Herath 5 0 37 1 7.40
S.Silva 10 0 38 1 3.80
M.Ameen 10 1 25 2 2.50
K.Maduwantha 10 0 34 2 3.40
R.Senavirathna 5 0 20 0 4.00
R.Jayasena 3 0 12 0 4.00