Thareen blitz and Sebastian fifty help St. Peter’s force draw
It was near yet far for St. Joseph’s, as St. Peter’s, in pursuit, held on to force a draw in the 92nd Battle of the Saints big match, which concluded at the SSC ground yesterday.
The Josephians were cruising while the Peterites were in dire straits at 75 for 5 in their run chase. However, two valuable knocks, including 56 by Joshua Sebastian, who shared two brief but crucial stands of 45 runs for the sixth wicket with Shavidu Silva and 24 runs with skipper Emosh Peterson, saw the Peterites stage a comeback.
St. Peter’s College retained the Rev. Fr. Maurice Le Goc Trophy - Pix by Eshan Fernando
This was followed by Thareen Sanketh, who cracked a quickfire 63 off 33 balls, including five boundaries and seven towering sixes. He shared another valuable partnership of 61 runs with Enosh to help St. Peter’s recover further. The dismissal of the pair, however, led to some anxious moments, but they eventually held on to deny the Josephians victory.
Earlier in the day, St. Peter’s, in reply to St. Joseph’s 352 for 8 declared, resumed from their overnight score of 248 for 7 but lasted only 4.4 overs as they succumbed to right-arm spinner and Sri Lanka youth player Vigneshwaran Akash, who claimed the remaining three wickets.
St. Peter’s added just nine more runs before being bowled out for 257, with Akash, playing in his first Battle of the Saints big match, emerging as the pick of the bowlers with six scalps.
St. Joseph’s, holding a lead of 95 runs, began their second innings with openers Yenula Dantanarayana and Aveesha Samash providing a steady start of 40 runs before being separated. Aveesha, joined by Senuja Wakunagoda, continued their impressive form from the first innings, putting the Peterite bowlers under pressure.
The pair scored freely and both reached their half-centuries, their second of the match. They added a valuable 89-run partnership for the second wicket before Senuja was dismissed for 56 off 55 balls, which included seven boundaries and a six.
Aveesha did not last long thereafter, becoming the third wicket to fall for the Josephians with 56 off 67 deliveries, including four boundaries and two sixes, after adding 22 runs for the third wicket with skipper Rishma Amarasinghe, who later retired hurt due to cramp.
Dilpa Maduranga and Nushan Perera then shared an unbroken stand of 36 runs for the fourth wicket before St. Joseph’s declared at 190 for 3, setting St. Peter’s a target of 286 runs.
| SCOREboard | |
| St. Joseph’s 1st innings (352/8 declared) Senuja Wakunagoda 88, Yenula Dantanarayana 84, Aveesha Samash 53, Nushan Perera 28, Rishma Amarasinghe 22, Pamoda Dalpadadu 22, Chethina Kavinda 39 n.o.; Shavindu Silva 5/95, Janith Panditharatne 3/76) St. Peter’s 1st innings (248/7 overnight) Savi Fernando c Amarasinghe b Samarasinghe 1 Dineth de Silva c Dalpadadu b Samash 5 Asadisa de Silva c and b Peiris 78 Shavidu Silva c Wakunagoda b Perera 62 Jason Fernando lbw b Akash 67 Joshua Sebastian b Akash 6 Enosh Peterson lbw b Akash 0 Thareen Sanketh c Wakunagoda b Akash 0 Sadeesha Silva not out 5 Sadeesha Kariyawasam lbw b Akash 4 Janith Panditharatne lbw b Akash 0 Extras (lb 7, nb 3, w 9, p 10) 29 Total (all out, 68.5 overs) 257 Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-19, 3-149, 4-226, 5-235, 6-247, 7-248, 8-249, 9-257, 10-257 Bowling: Disinu Samarasinghe 12-1-47-1, Aveesha Samash 11-0-40-1, Nushan Perera 19-1-65-1, Vigneshwaran Akash 16.1-0-44-6, Vishwa Peiris 10.1-0-44-1 St. Joseph’s 2nd innings Yenula Dantanarayana c Fernando b Silva 23 Aveesha Samash c Silva b Silva 56 Senuja Wakunagoda c de Silva b Panditharatne 56 Rishma Amarasinghe retired hurt 13 Dilpa Maduranga not out 19 Nushan Perera not out 18 Extras (lb 1, lb 4) 5 Total (3 wickets declared, 34 overs) 190 Fall of wickets: 1-40, 2-129, 3-153 Bowling: Sadeesha Kariyawasam 4-0-30-0, Janith Panditharatne 15-1-68-1, Shavidu Silva 9-0-46-2, Sadeesha Silva 2-0-12-0, Joshua Sebastian 4-0-29-0 St. Peter’s 2nd innings Savi Fernando lbw b Peiris 06 Dineth de Silva b Akash 20 Asadisa de Silva c Samash b Peiris 01 Shavidu Silva c Amarasinghe b Akash 21 Sadeesha Silva st Dalpadadu b Peiris 16 Joshua Sebastian c Amarasinghe b Peiris 56 Enosh Peterson c Maduranga b Akash 08 Thareen Sanketh not out 63 Sadeesha Kariyawasam lbw b Akash 00 Janith Panditharatne not out 00 Extras (b4,lb4, nb2) 10 Total (9 wickets; 50 overs) 215 Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-30, 3-32, 4-52, 5-75, 6-120, 7-144, 8-205, 9-205 Bowling: Disinu Samarasinghe 2-0-12-0, Nushan Perera 7-0-30-0, Vishwa Peiris 20-2-113-5, Vineshwaran Akash 21-6-50-4 |