Joes hold on to force a draw
St.Joseph’s captain Jehan Daniels who top scored for them with 93 in the first innings is seen batting in his second innings where he made 24 runs. Pic by Ranjith Perera
The Battle of the Saints turned out into another stalemate as in spite of St. Peter’s dominating the proceedings their traditional rivals St. Joseph’s holding on to force a draw ending day two on 237 for 8 in the 84th encounter concluded at the P. Sara Stadium yesterday.
The Peterites who came into the game as the underdogs had their rivals struggling for survival in both the innings on day one. The Petes had the Joes batting in tatters on 68 for 4 before the Josephian captain Jehan Daniel came to their rescue with a quick-fire knock of 93 in only 115 balls that included three boundaries and half a dozen sixes.
The right and left arm spin combination of Sachin Silva and Mohamed Ameen who made the early breakthroughs did the damage.
The Peterites in their turn helped by half tons by Shalith Fernando and Ranmith Jayasena ended the day in a strong position of 190 for 6. Resuming on day two and with 11 overs of batting left saw the overnight pair Pabasara Herath and Kanishka Maduwantha adding a further 28 runs before being separated with the dismissal of Pabasara who made a valuable 38 runs which had three boundaries and a six.
The Josephians batting for the second time with a deficit of 49 runs, saw the openers Johanne de Silva and Revan Kelly sharing 43 runs before being separated and they lost another quick wicket for the addition of four runs.
Nipun Sumanasinghe and Jehan Fernandopulle added 34 runs for the third wicket and from there on, they lost wickets at regular intervals and the dismissal of skipper Jehan Daniel cheaply saw them falling back and slid to 146 for 7.
Dineth Jayakody who remained unbeaten on 55 with four boundaries and a six and Dunith Wellalage who made 44 took them to safety with the duo denying further success for the Peterite bowlers.
The pair put on a valuable match saving partnership of 80 runs for the eighth wicket which sealed the game for a draw as the Josephians ended the day on 237 for 8 facing 81 overs.
Scoreboard
St. Joseph’s 1st innings
Johanne de Silva b Gunatilleke 8
Revan Kelly c Gunatilleke b Ameen 19
Nipun Sumanasinghe b Herath 5
Jehan Fernandopulle run out 15
Jehan Daniel c Sulakshana b Ameen 93
Sachintha Ravindu c Gunatilleke b Silva 10
Lakshan Gamage c Seneviratne b Silva 0
Dineth Jayakody st Shalith b Maduwantha 13
Dunith Wellalage b Silva 13
Miranga Wickramage run out 0
Ashian Danel not out 4
Extras (b4, lb2, nb5, w4) 15
Total (all out: 53.2 overs) 195
Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-30, 3-47, 4-68, 5-107, 6-107, 7-153, 8-187, 9-187.
Bowling: Santhush Gunatilleke 7-0-29-1, Pabasara Herath 7-0-28-1, Mohamed Ameen 18-3-71-2, Kanishka Maduwantha 15-1-37-1, Sachin Silva 6-0-24-3.
St. Peter’s 1st innings (190/6 overnight)
Santhush Gunatilleke c Ravindu b de Zilwa 2
Shannon Fernando c Kelly b Gamage 0
Sulakshana Fernando c Gamage b Wellalage 16
Shalith Fernando lbw b Wellalage 58
Ranmith Jayasena st Ravindu b A. Daniel 55
Nipunaka Fonseka c Ravindu b A. Daniel 11
Pabasara Herath c Sumanasinghe b Gamage 38
Kanishka Maduwantha b Gamage 14
Mohamed Ameen c Sumanasinghe b Gamage 5
Sachin Silva run out 4
Ruwin Seneviratne not out 3
Extras (b1, lb7, nb8, w22) 38
Total (all out: overs 60) 244
Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-9, 3-100, 4-101, 5-140, 6-181, 7-218, 8-228, 9-240.
Bowling: Jehan Daniel 7-1-31-0, Lakshan Gamage 14-0-62-4, Johanne de Zilwa 3-1-13-1, Dunith Wellalage 14-0-49-2, Miranga Wickramage 7-0-34-0, Ashian Daniel 13-1-40-2, Nipun Sumanasinghe 2-0-7-0.
St Joseph’s 2nd innings
Johanne de Silva b Ruwin Seneviratne 33
Revan Kelly c Gunatilleke b Ameen 8
Nipun Sumanasinghe c Silva b Maduwantha 35
Jehan Fernandopulle c Maduwantha b Ameen 15
Jehan Daniel c Sulakshana b Seneviratne 24
Dineth Jayakody not out 55
Sachintha Ravindu c Shannon b Seneviratne 3
Lakshan Rodrigo b Silva 4
Dunith Wellalage lbw b Seneviratne 44
Miranga Wickramage not out 05
Extras (b8, lb2, nb1) 11
Total (8 wickets: overs 81) 237
Fall of wickets: 1-43, 2-47, 3-81, 4-101, 5-126, 6-142, 7-146, 8-226.
Bowling: Santhush Gunatilleke 6-0-19-0, Pabasara Herath 4-1-11-0, Mohamed Ameen 26-6-84-2, Kanishka Maduwantha 17-6-36-1, Sachin Silva 8-1-21-1, Ruwin Seneviratne 20-3-50-4, Ranmith Jayasena 2-0-6-0.