St. Servatius’ skipper Diniru Abeywickramasinghe hit a fabulous 141 on day 1 at Big Club Grounds in Mt. Lavinia, keeping S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia on the back foot.
St. Servatius’ College, Matara vs S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia
In a ‘Tier A’ two-day encounter, S. Thomas’ College decided to bowl first against St. Servatius’ College, Matara. S. Thomas’ bowlers just got the perfect start, restricting St. Servatius’ to 39/3 inside 15 overs.
Raveen Kavintha and skipper Diniru Abeywickramsinghe joined in the middle for the rebuilding process as they added 85 runs for the 4th wicket before Abheeth Paranawidana getting into action with the wicket of Kavintha for 41.
Keeper-batter Chamarindu Nethsara joined his skipper and the duo put on a brilliant century stand. In the process, skipper Abeywickramasinghe went past the 3-figure mark, taking St. Servatius’ innings to a rather comfortable position. Once again, Paranawidana made the breakthrough by dismissing Nethsara for 40.
Abeywickramasinghe just got better and better, smashing the ball all around the park before falling 9 runs short of 150. His knock came off 162 deliveries while hitting 14 fours and 3 sixes.
When the umpires called for stumps on day 1, St. Servatius’ batted for 83 overs, putting Thomian bowlers under pressure with a total of 311/7. No.7 batter Viran Chamuditha remained unbeaten with a 65-ball 41 while Paranawidana was the pick of the bowlers for S. Thomas’, scalping 3 wickets.
Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala vs St. Sebastians’ College, Moratuwa
Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala and St. Sebastians’ College, Moratuwa faced each other in a ‘Tier A’ two-day match of the U19 Division 1 Schools Cricket Tournament 2023/24 which kicked off today at St. Sebastians’ College Grounds in Moratuwa.
Having asked to bat first, Maliyadeva College lost their first 3 wickets for 29, before skipper Gayana Weerasinghe and Pahasara Bandara adding 80 runs for the 4th wicket. However, Weerasinghe scored the bulk of the runs in that partnership while Bandara scored just 8.
Skipper Weerasinghe batted brilliantly for his 88 off just 102 balls which included 13 fours and 2 sixes. Once the set batters were dismissed, the wickets just began to lose, reducing Maliyadeva to 129/8.
Vinuka Galappaththi and Thaveesha Balasooriya put some fight down the order, adding valuable 56 runs before they were bowled out for 200. Balasooriya scored useful 24 runs and Galappaththi remained not out, striking a run-a-ball 46.
On the bowling front, Malintha Silva scalped 3/50 while Nadeesh Fernando and Manuja Chanthuka shared 4 wickets between them.
At the end of play on day 1, St. Sebastian’s College were on 126/6, trailing another 74 runs. Vimath Dinsara stood out for them with the bat, smashing an unbeaten 60 runs while Thaveesha Balasooriya bowled exceptionally well to pick 4 wickets.
Brief Scores:
St. Servatius’ College, Matara 311/7 (83) Diniru Abeywickramasinghe 141, Viran Chamuditha 41*, Raveen Kavintha 41, Chamarindu Nethsara 40, Abheeth Paranawidana 3/79, Ashen Perera 2/37
Day 1 Stumps.
Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala 200 (61.4) Gayana Weerasinghe 88, Vinuka Galappaththi 46*, Thaveesha Balasooriya 24, Malintha Silva 3/50, Nadeesh Fernando 2/25, Manuja Chanthuka 2/40
St. Sebastians’ College, Moratuwa 126/6 (42) Vimath Dinsara 60*, Janaka Silva 23, Ushen Silva 21, Thaveesha Balasooriya 4/27, Gayana Weerasinghe 2/24
Day 1 Stumps.
