Thurstan College became the first team to secure their place in the semi-finals when they trounced their arch rivals Isipathana College while St.Thomas College overcame a spirited D.S Senanayake outfit to qualify for the quarter finals of the under 19 all island limited overs tournament.
All-round Thurstan demolish Isipathana
Thurstan College recorded an easy 171 runs win over their brothers school Isipathana College in their quarter finals encounter worked out at R.Premadasa Stadium today.
Thurstan skipper Kavindu Kulasekara won the toss and elected to bat first on a friendly surface for batting. Thurstan opening pair of Minhaj Jaleel and Sajith Gunathilake played two sensible innings of 42 and 74 respectively to lay the foundation to a winning score. Minhaj Jaleel’s knock of 42 consisted 6 fours and a six while Sajith Gunathilake scored his 74 runs consuming 100 balls. Middle order batsman Charana Nanayakkara scored a quick-fire knock of 81 runs in 53 balls which had 9 towering sixes as his team reached a favourable 244 for 9 in 50 overs. Left arm orthodox spinner Chameera Dissanayake captured three wickets while left arm medium fast bowler Dushan Nirmana had two scalps.
Chasing a daunting victory target of 245, Isipathana failed to put up an impressive batting performance as the spin bowling trio of Charana Nanayakkara, Achintha Kalpana and Senal Wijesinghe took 7 Isipathana wickets to bowl out the green boys for a modest 73 runs in the 24th over. Danura Deelaka was the top runs scorer with 29 runs for the losing team.
Brief Scores:
Thurstan – 244/9 in 50 overs : Sajith Gunathilake 74, Charana Nanayakkara 81, Minhaj Jaleel 42, Chameera Dissanayake 3/19, Dushan Nirmana 2/38, Sudara Dakshina 2/38.
Isipathana – 73 all out in 23.4 overs : Danura Deelake 29, Charana Nanayakkara 3/18, Achintha Kalpana 2/18, Senal Wijesinghe 2/8.
St.Thomas seal their quarter final berth
Thomians propelled by their two leaders Madushan Ravichandrakumar and Thilaksha Sumanasiri sealed their quarter final berth when they defeated the high riding D.S Senanayake College team by 52 runs in their pre-quarter final encounter worked out at D.S Senananayke grounds today.
D.S Senanayake captain Binura Fernando won the toss and elected to field first and his decision turned out to be the perfect choice as D.S Senanayake bowlers got the maximum out of the surface as they restricted the strong St. Thomas college batting lineup to 59/6 at one stage. Superb rearguard partnership between Madushan Ravichandrakumar and Thilaksha Sumanasiri ensured St. Thomas College post a commendable score of 259/8 in 50 overs as the 7th wicket pair put on over 140 magnificently crafted runs to help their team reach safety. Madushan scored 62 valuable runs while Thilaksha scored 77 runs in his sensible knock. Right arm medium fast bowler Duleeka Brahmanage was the pick of the bowlers taking a five wicket haul for the hosts.
Chasing a challenging 260 runs to victory, the Thomian bowling attack put a stranglehold on the DS Senanayake batsmen as they were bundled out for 207 runs in the 45th over. Middle order batsman Shifran Muthalif top scored with 56 runs while left handed Bandara brothers; Kavin and Uvin chipped in with valuable 30s but they failed to reach the Thomian target. Right arm medium fast bowler Helakamal Nanayakkara took 4 wickets while Madushan Ravichandrakumar, Sachitha Jayathilake and Sajana De Silva scalped two wickets apiece.
Brief Scores:
St. Thomas – 259/8 in 50 overs : Thilaksha Sumanasiri 77 , Madushan Ravichandrakumar 62, Helakamal Nanayakkara 48*, Tharindu Rathnayake 25, Duleeka Brahmanage 5 for 55.
D.S Senanayake – 207 all out in 44.2 Overs : Uvin Bandara 34, Kavin Bandara 32, Shifran Muthalif 56, Helakamal Nanayakkara 4 for 39 , Sachitha Jayathilake 2 for 30, Sajana De Silva 2 for 41 Madushan Ravichandrakumar 2 for 41.
