Nimnaka – match bag of 12-83
View(s):St. Anthony’s tiny left-armer Nimnaka Jayatilleka tried single-handedly to bowl his side to victory over Royal Colombo in their match concluded at Katugastota. But the home team ran short of time.
Set 229 to win in 33 overs, Royal were staring down the pit at 99-7.
On day one, good contributions from Theekshana Gunasinghe and Tamashana Abeykoon took the Anthonians to a healthy 241. Off-spinner Kaushan Kulasuriya excelled, taking 7-71.
Royal was dismissed for 162, 79 behind. Thevindu Senaratne batted with his usual power and aggressive to top score with 40. Jayatilleka had 6-53.
Skipper Gunasinghe led the Anthonians charge as they looked for runs to make a declaration. The declaration had to be timed well. In hind-sight, it seems that St. Anthony’s erred on the side of caution.
St. Anthony’s 241 in 68.4 overs and 149 fpr 5 in 33 overs (Theekshana Gunasinghe 66, Lasitha Werellagama 22, Asitha Wanninayake 31, Kaushan Kulasuriya 2 for 76)
Royal 162 in 51 overs and 99 for 7 in 36 overs at close (Thevindu Senaratne 28, Shehan Herath 29, Nimnaka Jayatilleka 6 for 30)