The fourth and final day of the Sri Lanka Emerging Team’s Tour of England began with the hosts resuming on 482/7 with a lead of 110. The Surrey tail wagged hard as they managed to steal 74 runs in 9.5 overs before the final wicket fell.
Dunith Wellalage was the star bowler for Sri Lanka Emerging XI as the left-arm spinner took his 2nd five wicket haul in first class Cricket to end with figures of 5/143. Surrey’s first innings score of 556 meant that the hosts had a cushion of 186 runs to try and dismiss the young Sri Lankan batting lineup.
Lasith Croospulle and Avishka Perera gave the visitors a solid start, as Croospulle continued his rich form. After a 66-run opening stand Croospulle was the first to depart for 49, missing another half-ton by just 1 run. Four overs later, Perera also walked back to the pavilion for 18.
The Lanka Emerging XI, who were sailing smoothly on 72/1, were suddenly struggling on 113/5 still trailing by 73 runs .
Avishka Tharindu, who scored a valuable knock of 48 during the 1st innings, became the new hero the team was searching for, as he counterattacked to put some pressure back on the Surrey bowlers. The duo of Nipun Dananjaya and Perera successfully got to the 186 mark to give the visitors much needed comfort. However, the job was half-done as it was now about building a lead out of Surrey’s reach, as another collapse would give them more than enough time to chase down a small target.
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With their backs against the wall, the two youngsters continued to display class and maturity as time kept running out for the opposition. Perera, who played the role of the aggressor in this partnership, reached the monumental milestone of a maiden first class century as he dominated all the Surrey bowlers. He took only 102 deliveries to reach the three-figure mark, and it included 14 fours and a six.
Along with Perera’s century, the lead also went past 100 for Sri Lanka Emerging XI as the match was heading towards an inevitable draw. Skipper Nipun, who scored an unbeaten 150 in the first innings and played second fiddle to Avishka during this partnership, was well set on 81 looking for a second century in the match. But unfortunately for the visiting Captain, today was not his day to score another hundred as he was dismissed by Amar Virdi.
With that dismissal, the two teams decided to shake hands as the match was declared a draw. Once again this surface provided more support to the batters, which was the same case with the surfaces during the two previous tour games as well. Over 1200 runs were scored but the bowlers could take only 25 wickets throughout the four days. With this result, the four day leg of the tour ends for Sri Lanka Emerging XI as they will move to The Oval to face Surrey once again in a T20 encounter.
The 1st T20 encounter of the Tour begins on the 25th of May at 11.00PM Local Time.
