Stafford International School wins a thriller
View(s):Stafford International School (SIS) recorded a thrilling 2-wicket win over British School in Colombo (BSC) in their inaugural Limited Overs Cricket encounter played on February 18 at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.
The winning team - Stafford International School
Batting first BSC posted 210 runs before being bundled out in 35 overs and SIS reached the target after losing eight wickets in the last over of the game.
It was a keenly contest encounter between two evenly matched teams with the advantage swinging from one team to the other till the last over of the match. Batting first BSC scored 210 in 35 overs and their innings was anchored by a fantastic knock of 148 runs by Rahul Chigullapalli. Elesh Umagiliya took the bowling honours for SIS claiming four wickets for 38 runs in five overs.
SIS needed 211 to win, which seemed an achievable target, but BSC did not give them room to settle down that easily. BSC were able to take wickets at regular intervals ensuring that the spectators were kept guessing. BSC seemed to finally be at an advantage, when SIS was six wickets down for 128 runs.
However, SIS held on to their nerves and finally won the match in the last over scoring 215 for 8 wickets. The batting honours for SIS revolved around Sampras de Silva (25 runs), Krishna Shiram (37) and the match-winning knock of 54 not out by Avesh Polonowita, where he was involved in a partnership of 63 runs for the eighth wicket with Nadith Gunawardena. Salman Akbarally and Rex Nanayakkara claimed two wickets each for BSC.
Rahul Chigullapalli of BSC won the award for the Best Batsman
Elesh Umagiliya of SIS won the award for the Best Bowler
Rahul Chigullapalli of BSC and Avesh Polonowita of SIS shared the Man-of-the-Match award