Royal missed out another chance of pulling off an outright victory as they grabbed all the honours in their annual Inter-Schools Under-19 traditional encounter against Wesley College, which ended in a draw at Reid Avenue.
This encounter played for the Sir Frank Gunasekera Shield was completely dominated by Royal as they fell short by three wickets from recording an outright victory.
The Wesley tail-enders held on determinedly during a tense last few overs as they ended up with 114 for seven after they were set an impossible victory target of 227.
A couple of interruptions for bad weather on the second day of the match also frustrated Royal’s progress as they looked to build up a solid combination ahead of next month’s Big Match against traditional rivals S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia.
Despite the drawn game, there were several positives that Royal would like to take forward and the outstanding batting of young Dasis Manchanayake was one classic example.
The 17-year-old elegant left-hander hit a career-best 78, while batting under tremendous pressure and helped Royal to compile a modest 188 runs in their first innings.
Manchanayake walked into the middle after his Skipper Ahan Wickramasinghe had departed cheaply and they were in deep trouble when inform batsman Kavindu Pathirathna fell at 102 for five.
However, thereafter Manchanayake steadied the Royal innings with a fighting knock which included 12 boundaries and lasted for just over two hours.
Royal then had the satisfaction of bowling out their opponents for less than 100 runs with Kavindu Pathiratne, Gishan Balasuriya and Prashan Kalhara playing havoc with the Wesley batting.
The Royal bowlers continued to dominate as they reduced the Wesleyites to 82 for six in the second innings at one stage after having set a victory target of 227 runs.
However, Wesley Skipper Thenuka Perera came to their rescue with a stubborn batting performance stroking a valuable 48 with the help of six boundaries.
S. Thomas’ vs
St. Peter’s
Two magnificent centuries from Ryan Fernando and Nipunaka Fonseka highlighted the annual Under-19 cricket encounter between S. Thomas’ College and St. Peter’s College, which ended in a draw at Mount Lavinia.
This traditional fixture played for the Michael Tissera-Roy Dias Trophy, produced some superb batting from both sides as they geared up for their respective Big Matches scheduled for next month.
First it was Thomian Fernando who produced another scintillating innings as he went on to register his second hundred for the current season.
Last week of course, he missed out the three-figure mark by few runs against St. Joseph’s College but this time the stylish right-hander made sure of his century with a determined effort, which lasted for nearly four hours.
Fernando seems to be the key player in the Thomian batting line-up and he performed his role to near perfection which helped his team to reach a healthy 227 in the first innings.
Fernando’s score of 103 is almost half of S. Thomas’ first innings total and that goes to show how valuable his contribution was for the team from Mount Lavinia.
The second day of the match produced another centurion and this time it was the St. Peter’s Captain Nipunaka Fonseka who grabbed the opportunity to make his presence felt.
This was a very special moment for the left-hand middle order batsman as he powered his way to score his maiden hundred this season after having missed out the milestone on two other occasions.
Fonseka of course, had to really work hard for his runs as the Peterites had a shock start to their innings while losing two wickets in the very first over.
This was something St. Peter’s had rarely experienced this season as their middle order was exposed very early in the innings after paceman Yasiru Rodrigo had struck twice in successive deliveries.
However, the reliable Fonseka proved what he is capable of performing under these trying circumstances as he gave a fine display of building an innings through sheer determination and commitment.
He found an ideal partner in wicket-keeper batsman Lahiru Chethaka and the pair initially repaired the early damage and then went on to dominate the proceedings during a crucial partnership.
The Peterites eventually finished the game in style as they obtained some psychological advantage by claiming six wickets in the Thomian second innings for just 59 runs.
Bens vs Gurukula
St. Benedict’s College staged a superb fight back to force a draw to their traditional Under-19 cricket encounter against Gurukula College, worked off at Kotahena.
The Benedictines were in real danger of losing the game after they were skittled out for a paltry 118 runs in the first innings in a mere 41.5 overs.
They would have been bowled out even for a much lower total if not for an unbeaten 72 from middle order batsman Ashen de Soyza who hoisted two sixes and struck nine boundaries.
But yet, Gurukula were still in command of the game as they went on to build up a lead of over 150 runs by accumulating 273 for five in reply.
The visitors proved their batting depth and constructed their innings on the back of three superb half-centuries from opener Neluka Heshan, Skipper Kemira Nayanatharu and all-rounder Janitha Shehan.
Despite the daunting task ahead of them and a huge first innings deficit, St. Benedict’s took up the challenge and batted for 85 overs in their second innings to come out with a creditable draw.
Ashen de Soysa once again was the star for the Benedictines as he completed twin fifties while Pasan Suwahas and wicket-keeper batsman Sharujan Shanmuganathan also made valuable contributions.
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