Two games in the U19 Division I schools cricket tournament ended as St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa and S. Thomas’ College Mt. Lavinia recorded outright wins.
St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa proved too strong for Royal College, Colombo in their opening U19 Division I schools cricket tournament fixture at Moratuwa. St. Sebastian’s College added more quick runs to their overnight score in the 2nd morning of the game. With their skipper reaching his century Sebastian’s middle order decided to cut loose and make the run scoring as fast as possible even though the wickets kept tumbling in regular intervals. The hosts managed to put on a huge total of 369 runs for the loss of 9 wickets before their declaration.
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Medium pacer Anush Polonowita was surprisingly the best bowler for the Royalists, taking 4 wickets. Left-arm spinner Yenula Bandara also contributed by claiming 3 wickets after bowling a large number of overs
Royal College, in an attempt to reduce the lead created by the hosts, struggled with the bat in their second innings. They were restricted to just 139 runs by the Sebastinite bowlers, led by their premier spinner Malintha Silva, who claimed 4 wickets, making it 8 wickets in the match for him. Silva’s outstanding performance handed St. Sebastian’s a victory by an innings and 8 runs, making a strong statement that they are a force to be reckoned with this season going forward.
At Mount Lavinia, S. Thomas’ College made a comeback into the game after a disastrous day one and went on to win the game by 33 runs against St. Anthony’s College Kandy. S. Thomas’ being behind 30 runs in the first innings resumed their second innings on the second day with their overnight score at 27 runs for the loss of 1 wicket. With the help of a blistering 46 from Mithila Charles down the order the Thomians posted 126 on the board, setting the visitors a target of just 97 runs.
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The Antonians were in huge trouble from the word go as the fresher Aaron De Silva was causing the visitors all sorts of problems with his crafty left-arm spin. De Silva went on to grab six wickets while giving away just 27 runs. Ultimately the Antonians fell 33 runs sort of the target set by the host.
Brief Scores:
Royal College – Colombo 222 (64.1) Yasindu Dissanayaka 86, Shane Abeyratne 59, Isula Geeganage 32, Malintha Silva 4/59, Koshendra Silva 3/58 & 139 (47.3) Dushen Udawela 36, Ramiru Perera 26, Mlaintha Silva 4/41, Koshendra Fernando 2/29
St. Sebastian’s College – Moratuwa 369/9d (68.2) Ryan Dissanayaka 106, Ushen Silva 89, Kaveesha Perera 53, Anush Polonowita 4/10, Yenula Bandara 3/90
Result – St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa won by an innings and 8 runs
S. Thomas’ College – Mt. Lavinia 99 (42.2)Dineth Goonawardene 31, Avinash Fernando 21, Charuka Ekanayake 4/27, Dinura Ganegoda 2/16 & 126 (53.1)Mithila Charles 46, Charuka Ekanayake 5/65, Imeth Rajapaksha 3/13
St. Anthony’s College – Kandy 129 (39.1) Kaushika Kumarasinghe 33, Sanuka Kalpana 31, Abheeth Paranawidana 5/42, Anshane De Silva 2/6 & 63 (27.4) Charuka Ekanayake 27, Aaron De Silva 6/27, Anshane De Silva 2/9
Result – S. Thomas’ College won by 33 runs