145th battle of the blues
The 145th edition of the Battle of the Blues between Royal College, Colombo and S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia concluded in a tame draw after three days of action at SSC Grounds, Colombo.
On third and Final day, Royal College resumed their first innings at 234/7 and managed to add 44 more runs before declaring at 278/9.
Nethwin Dharmarathne played a crucial innings of 41 runs lower down the order for Royal College, while Ashen Perera took five wickets for S. Thomas’ College.
In their second innings, S. Thomas’ College started with a lead of 19 runs and displayed an impressive batting performance, scoring 229 runs for the loss of 4 wickets by the end of the third and final day. Dineth Goonewardene, batting at number 3, scored a brilliant 74 runs, and Skipper Mahith Perera contributed with a well-played 63. The duo dominated the Royal bowlers, forming a strong partnership of 104 runs for the third wicket.
Day 1 and 2
Earlier on the second day, Royal College’s youth captain, Sineth Jayawardane, played a crucial role in leading his team’s comeback against S. Thomas’. Despite a shaky start for Royal College, Jayawardane’s impressive innings of 92 runs off 172 deliveries helped them recover. Unfortunately, he fell just 8 runs short of a well-deserved century. Nevertheless, his contribution was vital to the team’s performance. Additionally, Dinura Senaratne and Nethwin Dharmarathne’s partnership of 69 runs for the 7th wicket also played a significant role. S. Thomas’ bowler, Ashen Perera, stood out by taking 4 wickets for 51 runs, while Darien Marlon contributed with 2 wickets for 35 runs. On the first day, Royal won the toss and chose to field. Sadev Soysa and Senadhi Bulankulame, the Thomian openers, formed a strong partnership of 66 runs for the first wicket. They were followed by another 66-run partnership between Soysa and Dineth Goonewardene. However, after scoring a brilliant half-century, Soysa was dismissed. Goonewardene continued to score patiently and reached his own half-century, but skipper Mahith Perera could only manage 36 runs before being trapped in front.
S. Thomas’ College struggled after Perera’s dismissal and were eventually bowled out for 297.
Despite being 199/3 at one point, they lost 7 wickets for 98 runs due to the remarkable bowling performance of Jayawardana and Ramiru Perera, who both took 4 wickets each.
Brief scores:
Scores:
S. Thomas’ College 297 in 88.2 overs (Sadev Soysa 83, Dineth goonewardena 50, Mahith Perera 36, Nathan Caldera 44, Akash Fernando 29; Ramiru Perera 4-55, Sineth Jayawardena 4-68) and 229/4 in 86 overs (Sadev Soysa 33, Dineth Goonawardene 74, Mahith Perera 63, Thisan Eheliyagod 31, Nathan Caldera 20; Ramiru Perera 2-87)
Royal 278/9 dec in 102.2 overs (Sineth Jayawardena 92, Ovina Ambanpola 36, Ramiru Perera23, Dinura Senarthna 33, Nethwin Dhrmarathne 41; Ashen Perera 5-44, Darien Diego 2-40)