St. Peter’s College left the field guilty of killing off any prospects of a worthwhile finish to their 90th cricket encounter against St. Joseph’s College that ended in a tame drab draw at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground in Colombo yesterday.
Even on a pitch that favoured the bat over the ball, the Peterites in their second essay preferred to defend most of the time after going past the 200-run lead in the final session of play unable to figure out the direction they were heading.
The Peterites got into a complete defensive frame of mind and batted for 63 overs to make 204 for 9 in the second innings and gave the Joes to bat just 16 overs after setting them a 247 target on the last day.
Abhishek Jayaweera of St. Joseph’s College, receiving the Best All-Rounder Trophy from Munesh David – Vice President, Group Supply Chain Management and Corporate Planning, Strategy, Dialog Axiata
The Joes deserved all the praise for declaring their first innings at 228 for 5 batting for just 49 overs after the Peterites batted first and made 270 for 9 in 60 overs.
Even with a 42-run buffer in the second innings thanks to the declaration by the Joes, the Peterites were merely concerned of just playing out for a draw, a far cry from the days and years when their traditional match had spectator appeal irrespective of who won or lost.
Even with the fall of the ninth wicket at 172 for 9 the Peterites had a lead of 214 runs and under 30 overs left in the day but they preferred to bat on to declare at 204 for 9 and only their dressing room and coach would know the reason for it.
Only one player Dilana Damsara from the Peterite team would want to remember something from the 90th match between the two schools when he missed scoring twin hundreds, out for 65 in the second innings after making a century (103) in the first innings.
Peterite Rohan Paulpillai stands out as the only batsman in the series to have made twin hundreds in the Battle of the Saints.
SCORES:
St. Peter’s College 270 for 9 declared (Dilana Damsara 103) and 204 for 9 declared (Dilana Damsara 65, Vishen Helambage 25, Asadisa de Silva 21, Joshua Sebastian 19, Ishira Ayupala 21 not out, Rithil Suraweera 15 not out, Yenula Devtusa 3 for 52, Maansa Madubhashana 4 for 66)
St. Joseph’s College 228 for 5 declared (Abishek Jayaweera 80, Hirun Kapurubandara 94) and 75 for 1 (Hiran Jayasundera 38 not out, Hirun Kapurubandara 27 not out)
