Sports
Mathews, Chandimal lead Sri Lanka’s solid response
An Angelo Mathews fifty in the company of another senior Dinesh Chandimal punctuated Sri Lanka’s strong response to being rattled late on Day 3 as they went to Lunch on Day 4 at 150 for 4, with a lead of 132 over New Zealand in Christchurch. The only wicket to fall in the session was that of nightwatchman Prabath Jayasuriya, who became Blair Tickner’s fourth dismissal of the innings.
New Zealand began the fourth day without the services of Neil Wagner, who failed a fitness test in the morning following some back issues he suffered on Day 3. That combined with Matt Henry not being fully fit played into the hands of Sri Lanka as they patiently added to their lead in a session where they scored 67 runs in 28 overs at under 3-an-over.
Though the pitch appeared to be easing out a bit, Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal had to proceed cautiously as the odd-ball misbehaved and kept New Zealand in business to trigger a collapse. The swing that the pacers on both sides got on the previous days was gone but there was still some seam movement for Tim Southee & Co. to latch onto. Tickner, who’d picked the three wickets in the final session on Day 3, got his fourth of the innings when he got Jayasuriya to feather a good length delivery – that straightened a little – to the keeper. The tailender wasn’t sure if he nicked it but a review was not taken, a rightly so as there was a clear spike.
Dinesh Chandimal arrived and joined forces with Mathews to put on a solid, undefeated partnership worth 55 runs, en route which they constantly had to deal with variable bounce. One such ball from Southee kicked off the surface and struck Mathews on the glove, leading to medical attention for the veteran. After some taping to the hand, Mathews was swiftly back to take guard and soon reached his 38th Test fifty. New Zealand could’ve had a late breakthrough from Michael Bracewell as he also got a ball to jump up on Mathews and surprise the batter, but he did enough to keep it down and away from the forward short leg fielder – the only catcher deployed around the batter.
Brief Scores:(at lunch on day 4)
Sri Lanka 355 & 150/4 (Angelo Mathews 54*, Blair Tickner 4-40) lead New Zealand 373 (Daryl Mitchell 102, Matt Henry 72, Tom Latham 67; Asitha Fernando 4-85) by 132 runs
Central College produced a remarkable final day comeback to win the Battle of the North Big Match, defeating St. John’s College by three wickets after an outstanding eighth-wicket partnership between Murali Thison and Jesuthasan Nitharsan.
Central had been playing second fiddle to their arch-rivals for most of the match until the morning of the third day, when Thison and Nitharsan turned the game around with a match-winning unbeaten stand of 93 runs.
At the start of the final day Central were in a difficult position, trailing by more than 120 runs with only four wickets in hand. Overnight batsman Iyathure Kabishek, who had scored 21, was dismissed after adding 37 runs for the seventh wicket with Thison. From that point onwards, Thison and Nitharsan combined to frustrate the St. John’s bowlers, batting together for 12 overs to guide their team to a memorable victory.
Emmanouil Karalis in action in Rouen
Thison had already been a thorn in the flesh of the St. John’s batting line-up from the opening day, capturing 12 wickets in the match, including seven in the second innings. However, his superb bowling effort initially appeared likely to go in vain due to Central’s poor batting performance.
Central beat St. John’s by three wickets at the Battle of the North Big Match.
Central had struggled in their first innings, being bowled out for just 95 runs, with the highest individual score coming from Antanareshan Abishek who made 23. Only three other batsmen reached double figures, while Thison was dismissed for just one run.
In contrast, Thison rose to the occasion in the second innings, producing a magnificent unbeaten 81 that proved to be the cornerstone of Central’s successful chase. His innings came off 126 balls and included eight boundaries and a six.
Nitharsan played the perfect supporting role with a brisk unbeaten 44 off just 33 deliveries, striking five fours and two sixes to accelerate the scoring during the decisive stand.
Earlier in the innings, openers Jayaseelan Jenoshan (20) and Kabilan Amalan (45) had given Central a solid start, putting on 44 runs for the first wicket.
St. John’s had earlier gained the advantage with a first-innings lead, and in their second innings a brilliant century from Uthayanan Abijoyshanth — 121 off 105 balls with 15 fours and four sixes — helped them post a challenging total of 247.
Despite the odds being heavily stacked against them heading into the final day, Central’s determined batting display, led by Thison and Nitharsan, ensured a memorable turnaround and a thrilling victory in the historic Battle of the North.
The traditional Big Match between St. Sebastian’s College Moratuwa and Prince of Wales’ College Moratuwa ended in a draw after an absorbing contest at De Soysa Stadium Moratuwa on Sunday.
St. Sebastian’s produced a strong second innings batting display with five top-order batsmen scoring half centuries to finish on 279 for five wickets declared, setting their arch rivals a target of 230 runs for victory.
Prince of Wales struggled in their run chase and were reeling at 54 for five wickets at stumps after 28 overs when play concluded.
Batting first, St. Sebastian’s were bowled out for 214 runs with Chamath Wellalage providing the main resistance with a half century. Nethul Anuhas and Rusandu Silva shared the bowling honours for the Cambrians, claiming three wickets each.
Prince of Wales responded with 263 runs in their first innings to take a slender lead. Suwahas Fernando anchored the innings with a well-compiled 77 off 145 deliveries, holding the top order together. Opening batsman Palingu Perera also made a valuable contribution with 42 runs.
Milantha Silva was the standout bowler for the Sebastianites, delivering a marathon spell of 36.2 overs to capture five wickets for 100 runs. Koshendra Fernando provided good support, claiming three wickets while bowling 31 overs.
In their second innings, St. Sebastian’s mounted an impressive batting effort. Thivanka Fernando (50), Kaveesha Perera (52), Lashen Fernando (54), Koshendra Fernando (66 not out off 68 balls) and Chamath Wellalage (50 not out off 49 balls) all struck half centuries as the Sebastianites declared at 279 for five, setting up an intriguing finish.
However, the Cambrians lost wickets at regular intervals during their chase before the match eventually ended in a draw.
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