Peterite Angelo and Royal’s Bhanuka steal the limelight

Chris Dhambarage

Royal’s second successive victory in the current inter-school season was somewhat overshadowed by a brilliant individual batting performance from Angelo Perera.

The captain of St. Peter’s College and Sri Lanka youth cap compiled an epic double hundred on his home grounds at Bambalapitiya in their high scoring encounter against Nalanda College.

The number three right hand batsman produced his best batting effort this season and also went on to make a career best 239 that also helped his team rattle up a huge 501 in their first innings.

This was easily the highest team score for the Peterites in a first eleven encounter as they collected over 450 runs on the second day which could be another unique achievement.

Even then the cynosure of all eyes was on Angelo Perera as he collected his runs at a tremendous pace against a decent bowling attack.

The manner in which he took on the Nalanda bowling was really outstanding as he faced only 206 deliveries that also included five sixes and two dozens of boundaries. He of course came into the crease at a vital stage of the innings and the pressure was mounting on him after Nalanda College had piled up nearly three hundred runs in their first innings.

However Angelo Perera soon realized the situation was perfect and tailormade for his style of batting and kept on punishing the bowlers quite regularly. He grew in confidence after reaching his first century as the boundaries began to flow from his bat while pushing the opposition on the defensive.

Even then the most striking fact was that he never lost control of the situation and always concentrated in occupying the crease until he reached his landmark. The Nalandians of course took the initiative as they batted themselves into a strong position with another solid performance.

The Peterites started their reply with the odds somewhat against them and their initial task was to avert the follow on mark. They succeeded in doing so without any difficulties and thereafter began to dominate the proceedings with the dynamic Angelo Perera leading the way.

He of course would have not achieved this magnificent double hundred without the support of his teammates. Consistent opener Andy Berenger set the pace with an early flourish before the more experienced Shiwanga Ranasuriya joined in the act to post a century partnership.

Angelo Perera found another good partner during the latter stages of the innings with Akshu Fernando also joining in the fun with the pair adding another significant partnership.

The Nalandians earlier rallied around through a century from Vidanapathirana to dominate the opening day as they batted themselves into an unbeatable position.

Royal v Isipatana

Royal College powered their way to score an-emphatic innings and 66 run victory over Isipatana College in their inter school cricket encounter worked off at Reid Avenue last week.

Royal College seem to have continued their winning form from last week where they recorded a historic win against St. Sebastian’s College Moratuwa in a similar manner at the same venue.

This time of course the opposition was pretty ordinary but still they will take it with more tough matches coming up during the next couple of weeks. The architect behind their success was Bhanuka Rajapaksa who plundered the Isipatana College attack to all corners of the ground in compiling a splendid 165.

This was of course not the first time that Rajapaksa had done the damage and he seem to be enjoying his batting having also made his presence felt with the ball in a couple of earlier outings.

Rajapaksa completely took the game away from Isipatana College with a ruthless batting effort while collecting his runs from just 134 deliveries. He made batting look much easy with an aggressive approach that helped his team reach an impressive 257 for 7 in their first innings.

Royal’s victory of course was always there from the moment they bundle out the opposition for a paltry 102 runs. Their bowlers have been quite consistent this season which is no doubt a good sign as they dismissed the opposition for a low score in both innings.

Incidentally Isipatana College struggled to reach even the three figure mark in the first innings and they were shot out for a mere 89 runs in the second innings. The presence and the experience of Haroon Mawjood has certainly provided Royal with an added advantage this season.

The rest of the bowlers comprising of Maneesha Thanthirigoda, Yasith Abeykoon and Lakshitha de Silva all rallied around well and had easy work as they went on to complete a morale boosting victory.

Ananda v Wesley

Ananda College missed out on a golden opportunity of recording an outright victory in their annual inter school encounter against Wesley College at Ananda Mawatha yesterday.

The Anandians made a complete mess of their victory target of 56 runs from six overs as they ended up agonizingly on 41 for 6 and will be regretting for the entire season for throwing away such an opening.

The Ananda College bowlers of course did all the hard work earlier as they successfully dismissed the Wesleyites for the second time in the match for a under two hundred runs.

This was a creditable performance considering the fact that the opposition was really determined to occupy the crease for a longer period.

However Ananda College spearheaded by Matheesha Perera got their act together well and picked up wickets at regular intervals that enabled them to enforce the follow on. In fact Perera had a very good game as a bowler as he snapped up four wickets in the second innings that helped them to bowl out the opposition for 171 runs.

In addition Minura Janadhi, Sachithra Perera and R. Sharmn all struck at the correct time in a good supporting role and to add the finishing touches. In the batting department Prabodha Seneviratne and Madumal Jayaratne had a superb game with both completing half centuries. Wesley College of course will be pleased with the final result as they went in to this game having suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of St. Benedict’s College at Kotahena in their previous outing.

This time too they were in danger of losing the game but a little bit of determination and courage certainly helped them to avert another disaster. The Wesleyites of course had only to survive the last day after they conceded over 250 runs to their opponents.

They did not collect sufficient runs in the first innings and were forced to follow on while putting themselves under tremendous pressure. However they put their heads down and batted more intelligently in the second innings that really frustrated the fielding side.

Mahanama v Zahira

Mahanama College put up a tremendous performance to beat Zahira College outright by and innings and 80 runs in their inter school cricket encounter worked off at Maradana during the weekend. Mahanama College got their act together well from the start and piled up a formidable 265 in their first innings. Thissakulattige, Ruberu and Gunatilleke all made significant contributions with the bat to boost their total.

The bowling honours went to Madhuka Dharmawardena who picked up four wickets in the first innings with Tharaka Cooray, Sarinda Perera and S. Nisanka providing the back up support.

S. Thomas’ v Dharmapala

S. Thomas’ College had to be content with a draw in their inter school cricket encounter against Dharmapala MV worked off at Pannipitiya last week.

The Thomians of course showed early promise as they piled up an impressive 252 for 9 in their first innings. But their hopes of dismissing the opposition for a low score were shattered by a superb century from D. Liyanage.

As a result Dharmapala MV did well to get closer towards the their opponents total with N. Pavithra also making a fighting half century.