After some good performances in the last few matches St. Peter’s College found themselves tumbling down against S. Thomas’ College in their under 19 division one encounter which ended on Saturday at Bambalapitiya.
The home side won the toss and elected to field first. Reconstructed pitch and the wet outfield in the morning made batting harder for the visitors. They lost wickets at regular intervals which prevented the Thomians from getting a strong first innings score. With the bat for the visitors, skipper Helakamal Nanyakkara scored a good knock of 63 runs which helped the visitors to a first innings total of 203 all out in 68 overs. Tharindu Rathnayake chipped in with a valuable 45 runs to make sure S. Thomas’ get a chance of putting pressure on the Peterite batsmen. Taneesha Weerakoon was yet again among the wickets as he finished with figures of 3 for 57 while right arm opening bowler Manelkar De Silva took 2 for 33 runs.
In-form openers for St. Peter’s came onto bat with a relatively easy target ahead of them. But they were soon sent back to pavilion by the visitors as wickets kept on tumbling one after the other. St. Peter’s were ultimately bowled out cheaply for just 93 runs in 37 overs, their lowest total in the tournament. It was only the captain Chandula Jayamanna who stuck in the crease for some time and scored 23 runs. With the ball, right arm seamer Dulanja Silva took 3 wickets for just 8 runs while Kanishka Perera captured 3 scalps for 23 runs.
St. Peter’s were asked to follow on as they were 110 runs behind S.Thomas’ College. This time around the batters were up to the Challenge as they easily managed to score runs and get themselves out of trouble. Wicket-keeper batsman Lakshina Rodrigo scored a brilliant knock of 91 runs, missing out on his maiden hundred. Elegant left handed batsman, Hashan Wanasekara scored 48 runs while Sanjula Madushan and Sachin Dalpathadu also chipped in with cameos of 44 and 42 respectively. St. Peter’s were bowled out for 298 runs in 89 overs at the end of the 2nd day’s play. Seamer Helakamal Nanayakkara bagged 3 wickets for 38 runs for the boys from Mount Lavinia.
Chief Scores
S. Thomas’ College (1st inn) – 203 all out 68 overs: Helakamal Nanyakkara 63, Tharidu Ratnayke 45, Taneesha Weerakoon 3/57, Mannelkar De Silva 2/33.
St Peter’s College (1st inn) – 93 all out 37 overs: Chandula Jayamanna 23, Dulanja Silva 3/8, Kanishka Perera 3/23.
St. Peter’s (2nd inn F/O) – 298 all out 89 overs: Lakshina Rodrigo 91, Hashan Wanasekara 45, Sanjula Madushan 44, Sachin Dalpathadu 42, Helakamal Nanyakkara 3/ 38.
