Thurstan College clinched the ‘Singer’ under 19 limited overs tournament when they beat the high riding S.Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia by 50 runs (D/L method) in the final played at De Zoysa Stadium, Moratuwa on Thursday. Incidentally this is the very first time Thurstan College has clinched the all island schools under 19 limited overs tournament in their college history.
The game was scheduled to start at 10.00am but due to the early morning showers, it began at 11.00am sharp with the Thomians winning the toss and electing to bat first. The game was a 47 overs affair due to the late start. The opening pair of Rashmika Opatha and Nipuna Gamage didn’t trouble the scoreboard for a long time as Thurstan left arm seamer Achintha Kalpana got both openers caught behind and his opening bowling partner Charana Nanayakkara got the wicket of Dulanja Silva to put the Thomian backs to the wall early on with their score on 14 for 3.
Wicket keeper batsman Sanesh De Mel and all-rounder Chenutha Wickramasinghe resurrected the Thomian innings with a steady partnership for the 4th wicket as they did at 135th Battle of the Blues. Sanesh De Mel was retired hurt when the score was on 62 and Chenutha found another able partner in the Thomian vice-captain Thilaksha Sumanasiri. Chenutha and Thilaksha counterattacked the Thurstan bowlers with their aggressive power hitting as they added 111 runs in 88 balls to boost the Thomian innings. Sri Lanka U 19 capThilaksha Sumanasiri scored 63 runs 6 fours and 3 massive sixes. Chenutha missed a well deserving century when he was clean bowled by Arjun Gunawardene for 72 runs which was scored in 87 deliveries. Thurstan sniffed a chance and they came back into the game roaring restricting the Thomians to 217 all out after the Thomians were placed on healthy 173 for 3 at one stage. The lower middle order failed to capitalize and push on for a match winning score as the Thurstan bowlers led by left arm spinner Arjun Gunawardene clawed their way back to dismiss the ‘Thora’ batting lineup and set a target of 218 in 47 overs for their batsman. Arjun Gunawardene bowled a splendid spell of 10 overs conceding 35 runs and grabbing 4 wickets.
Thurstanite opening pair of Sajith Gunathilake and Minhaj Jaleel got their team off to a flying start as they punished the loose bowling by the Thomians. They put on 77 runs for the first wicket in just 12 overs to help the following batsmen to easily chase down the target. Both openers swept and drove with tremendous confidence and skill as Thomians were left clueless. Minhaj Jaleel was dismissed by Tharindu Rathnayake for 28 runs. Most of the damage was done by Sajith Gunathilake as he clobbered the hapless S.Thomas’s bowling attack to all parts of the ground before he was retired hurt for 64 runs when the Thurstan score was on 120. Sajith’s knock of 64 runs came in 76 balls with 8 boundaries and 1 maximum.
One drop batsman Thilan Gunaratne continued his opener’s job perfectly as he too scored 32 valuable runs in this all important final. After Thilan’s wicket, Left handed Thimira Jayasinghe and skipper Kavindu Kulasekara consolidated the inning with an unbroken 48 runs partnership before rain came down and gave an early end to the final. Thurstan College were 186/2 in 36 overs and the Thurstanites were 50 runs ahead of the Duckworth and Lewis score and with the rain gods preventing any further play, Thurstan College were declared worthy winners of ‘Singer’ under 19 all island limited overs tournament. Left arm spinner Arjun Gunawardene was adjudged the man of the match for his splendid bowling performance.
Brief Scores:
STC – 217 all out in 46.2 overs : Chenutha Wickramasinghe 72, Thilaksha Sumanasiri 63, Sanes De Mel 25, Arjuna Gunawardene 4/35, Achintha Kalpana 2/29.
TC – 186/2 in 26 overs : Minhaj Jaleel 28, Sajith Gunathilake 64, Thimira Jayasinghe 37*, Thilan Gunaratne 32.
