Isipatana paceman Samitha Sulochana in action (Pic by Ranjith Perera) |
It was near yet so far for Thurstan as their openers Udara Munasinghe and Supun Navaratne with their calypso style hitting almost turned the tables after Isipatana had dominated most of the proceedings in the two day 47th encounter which concluded at the SSC ground yesterday.
Thurstan who set a target of 189 from 34 overs by Isipatana ended the day just 14 runs short, ending at 175 for 4 when bad light stopped play with just five overs remaining.
Earlier in the day the right arm pace and spin combination of Dinusha Fernando and Samitha Sulochana made Thurstan struggle for their runs despite being in a strong position at the end of the first days play.
Overnight batsmen skipper Shihan Kamileen and Javed Siyambalapitiya making steady progress putting on 46 runs for the third wicket. The dismissal of Siyambalapitiya saw the Thurstanites going in the defence with Dinusha in control.
The third Thurstan wicket fell with the score on 99. This was followed by a collapse with Thurstan losing three quick wickets and sliding to 136 for 6.
Isipatana going in for quick runs made a declaration after making 135 for 5 facing 37 overs.
Thurstan openers Udara and Munasinghe and Supun Navaratne took up the challenge and began hitting the bowlers around the field.
They posted the 100 runs in no time with Udara reaching his half ton. In the process the pair established a new record for the best opening partnership of 96 runs set by Diyanesh Rajaratnam and Jayantha de Silva made in 1972. The separation came after adding 124 runs made no difference as the batsmen coming in later continued in the same pattern but were unfortunate being unable to reach the target.
Nevertheless it was entertaining cricket for the supporters of the two sides in the final session of play to which credit must go to the Thurstan openers.
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