Saints’ clash peters out to a draw
The 81st Battle of the Saints clash between traditional rivals St. Joseph’s and St. Peter’s ended in a tame draw at the P. Sara Stadium yesterday.
The outcome of the match was visible at the halfway stage of the second session and later when the Josephians set an impossible target of 193 in 26 overs for the Peterites.
Josephian opener Sandaruwan Rodrigo drives during his knock of 118 in the second innings against St. Peter’s at the P. Sara Oval - Pix by Ranjith Perera
The morning session of play saw St. Peter’s resuming on their overnight score of 215 for 7 with overnight pair Sachin Dalpethado and Taneesha Werakoon who together rescued the side having added a record stand for the eighth wicket, adding a further 29 runs before being separated.
The pair carried the partnership to 159 runs for the eighth wicket to set a new series record for the eighth wicket which stood at 94 runs set by two Peterites Fred Perera and C. Marthalingham 58 years ago in 1957.
Sachin made 114 which comprised 12 boundaries and four sixes while later Taneesha went on to reach his half ton before the Peterites innings came to an end with the score on 268 off 54.1 overs.
The second session of play belonged to two Josephians Sandaruwan Rodrigo and Hashindra Perera who both excelled in the batting and bowling departments. Sandaruwan who made the top score of 38 in the first inning made a knock of 118 for St. Joseph’s batting the second time to make a score of 293 for 5 declared.
The target of 193 runs was no where going to an easy task but the Peterite batsmen slashing at every ball that came their way only succeeded in giving away their wicket before ending the day on 110 for 7 and right-arm pacie Hashindra ended up with impressive figures of 6 for 47.
| Scoreboard St. Joseph’s 1st innings Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-55, 3-60, 4-60, 5-61, 6-92, 7-94, 8-126, 9-130. St. Peter’s 1st innings (215/7 overnight) Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-29, 3-36, 4-79, 5-79, 6-79, 7-85, 8-244, 9-258. Fall of wickets: 1-77, 2-142, 3-166, 4-178, 5-205, 6-236, 7-257 |