It was Royal’s turn to savour the champagne
View(s):By David Stephens
Over the course of a century, the Royal-Thomian has carved itself a reputation for being the quintessential school cricket spectacle; a rhapsodic mix of scintillating competition, passionate support and raucous revellry. Last week the encounter lived up to all its hype as Royal College conquered S. Thomas’ by seven wickets, after three electric days at the SSC.
The man who rised for Royal -- allrounder Chamika Karunaratne with the man-of-the-match trophy. - Pix by Amila Gamage
What made their victory even more significant was the fact that the match was plagued by rain, resulting in the cumulative loss of nearly an entire day’s play. Royal’s undisputed hero on the day was Chamika Karunaratne, who took nine wickets during the match. However, he was supported by a bowling attack that went for the jugular right from the game’s outset.
Put into bat by the Royalists, S. Thomas’ was almost immediately were in a spot of bother with two wickets down. One of which was that of their skipper Javed Bongso- for only 20. The proverbial ice they were skating on became even more tenuous when the heart of the Thomian batting line-up was ripped out, leaving them staggering at 92 for 5.
An elated Devind Pathmanathan holds aloft the D.S Senanayake Shield after receiving it from chief guest P.L.D. Kariyawasam -- the former Thomian skipper.
Devin Jayasinghe though displayed the famed Thomian grit with an aggressive 107-ball 74, which propelled the final first innings total to a respectable 192.
In response Royal bludgeoned 260 for 5 by the end of the second day- with Sampath de Silva top scoring with 61 and wicketkeeper, Milan Abeysekera, striking a valuable 50. A draw seemed on the cards as rain had brought an early denouement to proceedings for the second time.
Suspecting the rains might arrive once again on the third day; Royal declared and chanced their luck at bundling the Thomians out for a low total. This they accomplished with lethal execution as Karunaratne, who bagged five first innings scalps, claimed four wickets, his pace partner Hashen Ramanayake registered two early breakthroughs and the side’s leading wicket-taker, Poorna Aluthge, took one wicket. The Thomians were bowled out for a paltry 132, leaving Royal needing just 64 runs to win.
Despite losing three quick wickets, Royal crossed the line with relative ease, finishing with a boundary which took them to 67. As the victorious Royal Captain, Devind Pathmanathan, collected the D.S Senanayake Shield from former S. Thomas’ skipper, P.L.D. Kariyawasam who led the Mt. Lavinia School in 1969 and 1970, who was the encounter’s Chief Guest, his school’s supporters burst into a wave of celebration, which only subsided hours later.
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