St. Anthony’s eke out one run first innings win over Trinity
St. Anthony’s College silenced the critics with a very good all-round display that saw them eke out a one-run first innings win over the much stronger Trinity College team in their drawn 98th Battle of the Blues in the Hill Capital encounter concluded at the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy yesterday.
Trinity allrounder Raveen Sayer plays defensively during his knock of 43 not out against St. Anthony’s at Asgiriya yesterday - Pic by Ranjith Perera
Trinity were well placed on 126-3 when skipper Ron Chandragupta, whose batting was like a breath of fresh air, skied to deep cover. Nushan Weerasinghe, who made the only fifty of the match, made his exit shortly after. Then came the collapse.
Raveen Sayer played superbly, taking whatever runs he could and by degrees kept up to the required 188. But a foolish call for a single ended the innings. Antonian skipper Nimesha Gunasinghe bowled a long spell, kept one end shut tight and also accounted for five wickets. The Antonians were 55-5 second time round and were indebted to Buvaneka Wijetunga, who top scored in both innings, and Dilan Bandara for guiding them to safety.
Chief Scores:
St. Anthony’s College 188 all out in 64.2 overs (Kanishka Ukgalpaya 39, Buvaneka Wijetunge 42, Charith Sudharaka 3 for 15, Raveen Sayer 3 for 57) and 124 for 8 wickets in 61 overs (Nimesha Gunasinghe 17, Damithra Panditharatne 13, Dilan Bandara 28, Buvaneka Wijetuna 29; Charith Sudaraka 3 for 16, Amrith Srimahan 2 for 24, Raveen Sayer 2 for 40)
Trinity College (97-3 overnight) 187 all out in 58 overs (Nushan Weerasinghe 55, Ron Chandragupta 31, Raveen Sayer 43n.o, Nimesha Gunasinghe 5 for 45, Dilan Jayalath 2 for 25, Dilan Bandara 1 for 41) and 27 for no loss in 7 overs (Kaveen Hiniduma 17n.o.)