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44th Battle of the Saints Limited over match won by St. Joseph's College by 87 runs

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44th Battle of the Saints Limited over match won by St. Joseph’s College by 87 runs

Posted on 03 April 2018 by admin

The Josephian-Peterite limited overs encounter which is the longest running Limited Over encounter in the country and played for the Rev.Fr. Peter A. Pillai trophy was worked off for the 44th consecutive year at the SSC grounds in Colombo on Saturday, March 24, 2018.

 

A solid all-round effort by St. Joseph’s College enabled them to beat arch rival St. Peter’s College by 87 runs in their 44th Battle of the Saints annual limiter overs cricket encounter and win the Fr. Peter Pillai trophy at the SSC ground in Colombo yesterday.

The Joes electing to bat first made 259 in 49.2 overs as Revan Kelley (59), Nipun Sumanasinghe (53) and Dunith Wellalage (37) piled up the runs.

The Peterites got off to a disastrous start losing three wickets for just six runs and never recovered only to be bowled out for 172 as the Daniel duo of Jehan and Ashian grabbed four scalps each. Only Santhush Gunathilake with 49 and Ranmith Jayasena (48) offered some resistance.

Jehan Daniel skipper of St. Joseph’s was adjudicated as man of the match.

St. Joseph’s: 259 in 49.2 overs (Revan Kelly 59, Nipun Sumanasinghe 53, Dunith Wellalage 37, Jehan Daniel 26, Lakshan Gamage 26, Dilesh Perera 19, Shivan Perera 2/32, Santhush Gunathilake 2/44, Mohamed Ameen 2/60)

St.Peter’s: 172 in 38.4 overs (Santhush Gunathilake 49, Ranmith Jayasena 48, Dinith Anjula 25, Jehan Daniel 4/21, Ashian Daniel 4/32)-(YK) 

 

 

The Josephian skipper and Sri Lanka U19 vice captain, Jehan Daniel called correct at the toss and the Josephians batted first on what looked like a good track to bat on. Johanne De Zilva fell early to the left arm spin of Miflal Ameen but experienced campaigners Revan Kelly and Nipun Sumanasinghe resurrected the innings with both batsman making half centuries. Skipper Daniel hit a couple of lusty blows during his short stay but he fell to some canny bowling from Ameen.

The Josephians struggled during the middle overs to gain any momentum but 15 year old Dunith Wellalage gave the innings much needed impetus with a fluent 37, though his dismissal sparked a mini collapse as the Josephians were all-out for 259 after being 237/5. Ameen, Santhush Gunathilaka and Shivan Perera all picked two wickets apiece for the Peterites.

The Peterite run chase got off to a horror start with their top order bar skipper Gunathilaka being dismissed in quick succession as they were reduced to 3/06. Jehan Daniel had his tail up for the Josephians dismissing both right handers with in-swingers to trap them in front while Lakshan Gamage picked up the first wicket to fall.

It was a grand recovery from there onwards for the Peterites through Gunathilaka and Ranmith Jayasena as the duo initially took time before starting to break free as they added 103 runs for the fourth wicket. Then came the most telling point in the match when Jehan Daniel brought himself back into the attack to capture the vital scalp of Jayasena who was unfortunate to be dismissed on 48.

The other Daniel (Ashain) also got into the act as he dismissed the Peterite skipper who was looking well set for a big one to put a halt to the Peterite run chase. The boys from Bambalapitiya never really recovered from there onwards as they eventually folded up for 172 handing a massive 87 run victory to the Josephians.

Ashain Daniel was unfortunate to not pick a five wicket haul but he ended with outstanding figures of 4/32 while captain Jehan Daniel picked up the last wicket to fall to end with a stunning 4/21 as the Josephians recorded a win in the series after 2014.

Jehan Daniel and Ashain Daniel were named man of the match and best bowler respectively while Revan Kelly won the best batsman’s award for his crucial 59. Sulakshana Fernando was named best fielder in the match for his catch and an amazing run out while Santhush Gunathilaka and Ranmith Jayasena won the award for the ‘partnership of the match’.

 

 

 

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44th "Battle of the Saints" limited over encounter on Saturday, March 24, 2018 at SSC grounds

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44th “Battle of the Saints” limited over encounter on Saturday, March 24, 2018 at SSC grounds

Posted on 19 March 2018 by admin

 The limited over "Battle of the Saints" was launched in 1975. The honour of captaining the inaugural game belonged to Dushan Soza (SJC) and Bernard Wijetunga (SPC).Around this time, the 50-over game was gathering momentum throughout the cricketing playing nations. The Josephian-Peterite limited over game was the first amongst schools in Sri Lanka. St. Joseph's College is ahead with 21 wins while the Peterites have won 20 matches including a daring win in 2017.

2018 marks the 44th encounter and the game will be played on Saturday, March 24th at SSC grounds. 

Recap of 43rd Encounter played at SSC Grounds on March 25, 2017.

St. Peter’s College recorded their third successive win against traditional rivals St. Joseph’s College with a 54-run victory in their 43rd annual Limited Overs cricket encounter played at the SSC ground in Colombo today (25). The high-scoring match saw St. Peter’s taking first lease of the wicket were steered by two batting displays by Sulakshana Fernando, who made 90 and Manelker de Silva, an unbeaten 107. 

The Peterites ended up with a formidable score of 311 for 8. 

St. Joseph’s in their run-chase, despite a fine knock of 73 coming from Dineth Madurawala, was bowled out for 257 with three deliveries to spare. 

St. Peter’s 311 for 8 wickets (50) (Sulakshana Fernando 90, Santhush Gunatilleke 31, Lakshina Rodrigo 23, Manelker de Silva 107n.o, Thineth Madurawala 2/22, Nipun Sumanasinghe 2/58) 

St. Joseph’s 257 all out (49.3) (Dineth Madurawala 73, Havin Perera 47, Jehan Daniel 35, Pahan Perera 23, Sachin Silva 3/55, Manelker de Silva 2/23, Santhush Gunatilleke 2/30)

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84th "Battle of the Saints" on March 2nd & 3rd ends in a tame draw

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84th “Battle of the Saints” on March 2nd & 3rd ends in a tame draw

Posted on 04 March 2018 by admin

SJC XI 2018

The 84th "Battle of the Saints" encounter ended in a tame draw, in favour of the underdogs St. Peter's College who had a 49-run lead in the first innings. The Josephians forced the draw by batting through the better part of day-2 and giving their rivals only 9 overs to make 189 runs for a win – an impossible task. At the end of the day Peterites provided entertaining cricket and were 57 for the loss 1-wicket at close of play. It was a disappointing finish from a spectator standpoint. But the Josephians would not have ti any other way.

The match was played before a large crowd of spectators on Friday (March 2nd) and Saturday (March 3rd) at the P. Sara Stadium. Kudos to "ThePapare.Com" powered by Dialog who broadcast the match on both day much to the delight of the Joes and Peterites all over the world. In fact this writer had the distinct pleasure of watching both day's play from Toronto, Canada on a large screen monitor and the clarity of the broadcast was awesome. Well done 'ThePapare', we are grateful for the outstanding service provided to the viewers all over the world. Thank you.

SPC XI 2018

Peterite skipper Santhush Gunathilake won the all important toss and elected to field. A good decision in retrospect. The Josephians went out favourites in this 84th encounter and had a better all-round side compared to the Peterites. A maximum of 60 overs per team in the first innings over has been a mandatory policy adapted by the joint committee many years back. The objective of this decision was to trigger a result in the big match. This did not play into the game as the Josephians were all out in their first innings for 195 in 53.2 overs. Sachin Silva took three wickets for 24 runs and Mohammed Ameen grabbed two wickets for 71 runs.

The Peterites had their rivals struggling for survival in both inningsa. 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. Skipper Jehan Daniels led from the front and steered the Joes out of trouble by scoring a blistering 93 runs. Daniels was unfortunate to be caught by the rival skipper Gunathilake attempting a big hit. In reply the Peterites rattled up 244 runs in the mandatory 60 overs with a 49-run lead in the first innings. Shalith Fernando, 58, and Ranmith Jayasena, 55, batted best for the Peterites and ensured that they passed the Josephian first innings total easily. Fernando contributed 58 with six fours and two sixes while Jayasena chipped in with 55 with four fours. Shalith Fernando and Sulakshana Fernando associated in a 91-run stand for the third wicket on the previous day.

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.

JOSEPHIAN SKIPPER JEHAN DANIELS WON MAN OF HE MATCH AWARD

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.

Like it is done in the past the second innings was a big bore with this time the Joes playing safe to ensure a draw utilizing as many as 83 overs to score 237 for 8 and declare leaving the Peterites to make 189 in 15 overs which even a machine would not have been able to do. In this writer's opinion, the Josephians would have done well to declare their second innings on reaching 200 runs leaving the 152 runs to score in about 20 overs. This would have turned the match into an interesting battle. But the Joes played it safe to record another drab draw.

When the match ended the Peterites reached 57 for 1 in nine overs with Santhush Gunatilleke making 39. And so the big match ended in a tame draw. On the first day Sri Lanka youth player and Joes skipper Jehan Daniel scored 93 with six sixes and made only 24 in the second innings. However, there was little doubt that Daniels was easily the best player on the ground on both sides. He was unfortunate to miss his coveted century by 7 runs but he saved the Josephians from recording a low first innings score. 

AWARDS – 84th BATTLE OF THE SAINTS ENCOUNTER

  • Best Fielder Pabasara Herath – SPC
  • Best Bowler Lakshan Gamage – SJC
  • Best Batsman Shalith Fernando – SPC
  • Best Allrounder Dunith Wellalage – SJC
  • Man of the Match Jehan Daniel – SJC

 

FLASHBACK TO 83rd BATTLE OF THE SAINTS – 2017:

Sri Lanka under 19 cricketer Jehan Daniel played the role of savior to rescue St Joseph’s College from dire straits at 10 for 5 to a respectable 205 on the opening day of the 83rd Battle of the Saints encounter against St Peter’s College at the P Sara Oval yesterday.

By the close the game was evenly poised with St Peter’s replying with 138 for five wickets.

Daniel’s magnificent century saved St. Joseph’s the blushes and enabled them to take the upper hand.

Daniel came to the crease with his side tottering at 10 for 5 after skipper Harin Cooray had won the toss and elected to bat first. However in the first session’s play things go the way the Joes would have planned.

Under 19 player cum Peterite vice-captain and right arm fast bowler Manelker de Silva and his new ball partner Santhush Gunathilake combined together to rip through the batting line up.

Gunathilake ran through the Joes top order by making the early breakthrough in his first two overs when he dismissed openers Cameron Duruge and took the prize wicket of Nipun Sumanasinghe who has scored 1000 runs this season. Manelker De Silva added salt to the wound of the Josephians when he got rid of Dineth Madurawela for one as St. Joseph’s slid to 3 for 3. To make matters worse for the Joes both Thashan Perera and Havin Perera were run out due to brilliant fielding and half the Joes side was out for 10. A sixth wicket partnership of 56 between Daniel and wicket keeper Shevan Fonseka (26) addressed the slump. The stand was ended with another run out of Fonseka following a direct throw from Ranmith Jayasena, son of Panadura SC cricketer Mangala Jayasena.

 

 

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