It was another draw at P. Sara stadium
View(s):83rd Battle of the Saints
By M. Shamil Amit
It was yet another draw at the P. Sara Stadium at the 83rd encounter of the Josephian-Peterite encounter. Chasing an impossible target of 181 runs to win in 15 overs, Petes ended on 99 for no loss with allrounder Santhush Gunatilleke remaining unbeaten on 52.
But the match would no doubt be a memorable one for St. Peter’s opener Santhush Gunatilleke who achieved his ambition of reaching the 1000 runs for the season and of all in their traditional big match which he will cherish for the rest of his life.
St.Joseph's opening batsman Tashan Perera plays one to the on-side - Pic by Ranjith Perera
As for the Josephian opener Cameron Duruge ended with a ‘pair’ and would for sure want to forget this encounter. Batting the second time the Joes standing on a lead of just 17 runs was forced to go on the defense after losing their first wicket for no score in the fourth ball of the first over.
Thashan Perera and Nipun Sumanasinghe were making some progress and gathering runs at snail pace before they too were separated after adding 39 runs. They lost two more wickets for the addition of just 11 runs and slid to 50 for 4.
First inning hero Jehan Daniel who made an unbeaten 124 came to his sides’ rescue again when he put on a valuable 52 runs for the sixth wicket with Jehan Fernandopulle and again the Josephians lost a quick wicket that of Daniel on the stroke of the tea break with the score on 114 for 7 –a lead of 131 runs with a session remaining.
Earlier in the day the Peterites was made to dig in for their runs. Resuming from their overnight score of 138 for 5 Manelker de Silva and Ranmith Jayasena added another 26 runs before Manelker was dismissed having managed to race to his half ton.
The fall of the sixth wicket saw the Peterites being left with just eight overs to bat and they ended their 60 overs making 188 for 8 in reply to the Josephian score of 205.Jehan Daniel was the hero of the Josephians on day one as his unbeaten knock of 124 helped them make a respectable score of 205 when they were in tatters with five of the top batsmen back in the pavilion with only ten runs on the board.
Daniel took the Josephian out of the woods as he along with Shewon Fonseka put on a valuable 56-run stand for the sixth wicket and this followed with the best partnership of the innings that of 93 runs for the eighth wicket between Daniel and Pahan Perera.
Scoreboard
St. Joseph’s 1st innings 205 (Shewon Fonseka 26, Pahan Perera 25, Jehan Daniel 124 n.o.: Santhush Gunatilleke 3 for 34, Manelker de Silva 3 for 35)
St. Peter’s 1st innings (138/5 overnight)
Anishka Perera c Fonseka b Daniel 0
Santhush Gunatilleke lbw b Ekanayake 10
Vinul Gunawardena c Cooray b Sumanasinghe 9
Shalith Fernando c Fernandopulle b Cooray 47
Lakshina Rodrigo c Ekanayake b H. Perera 19
Manelker de Silva c Ekanayake b Sumanasinghe 51
Ranmith Jayasena b Sumanasinghe 25
Shivan Perera not out 12
Chathura Obeysekera c Duruge b Sumanasinghe 2
Sachin Silva not out 1
Extras (b7, lb1, nb1, w3) 12
Total (8 wickets; 60 overs) 188
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-20, 3-28, 4-53, 5-136, 6-164, 7-182, 8-186.
Bowling: Jehan Daniel 9-3-31-1, Harin Cooray 14-3-32-1, Ruchira Ekanayake 15-3-44-1, Nipun Sumanasinghe 16-0-49-4, Havin Perera 6-1-24-1.
St. Joseph’s 2nd innings
Cameron Duruge c Rodrigo b Gunatilleke 0
Thashan Perera b Miflal 25
Nipun Sumanasinghe c A. Perera b Miflal 16
Dineth Madurawala b de Silva 1
Jehan Daniel b de Silva 42
Shewon Fonseka c Fernando b Perera 13
Jehan Fernandopulle c Gunatilleke b Miflal 13
Pahan Perera not out 19
Harin Cooray b Obeysekera 25
Havin Perera not out 5
Extras (b1, nb3) 4
Total (8 wickets: 77 overs) 163
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-39, 3-42, 4-50, 5-70, 6-112, 7-114, 8-154.
Bowling: Santhush Gunatilleke 2.3-1-6-1, Manelker de Silva 11-4-21-2, Sachin Silva 4.3-4-1-0, Shivan Perera 8-1-21-1, Chathura Obeysekera 21-5-56-1, Ameen Miflal 21-6-42-3, Ranmith Jayasena 9-4-15-0.
St. Peter’s 2nd innings
Santhush Gunatilleke not out 52
Anishka Perera not out 41
Extras (w6) 6
Total (no wickets: 15 overs) 99
Bowling: Jehan Daniel 2-0-22-0, Harin Cooray 7-1-34-0, Nipun Sumanasinghe 2-0-20-0, Havin Perera 4-0-23-0.