Moratu Vidyalaya salvage pride thanks to Sandun’s marathon innings

A marathon innings by Sandun Suwaris paved the way for Moratu Vidyalaya to force a draw to the 73rd Battle of the Golds Big Match against Sri Sumangala College Panadura at De Soysa Stadium Moratuwa on Sunday.

Batting for the second time, Moratu Vidyalaya had barely closed the first innings deficit when Suwaris came to bat. They had just six wickets in hand with more than two sessions remaining on the final day when Suwaris rose to the occasion with a fine rearguard action.

The middle order batsman held their batting together with a marathon innings. He faced 258 balls for his unbeaten half century which included just a solitary boundary.

Moratu Vidyalaya fared badly in the first innings as they were bowled out for 87 runs with Mevindu Kumarasiri taking five wickets for 28 runs.

In their essay Sri Sumangala too struggled for runs but a half century by Rusith Jayawardana helped them reach 144 runs.

Earlier Sanjana Senavirathna played a crucial role top scoring with 66 runs. His knock included four fours and two sixes.The Battle of the Golds big match was played as a three day encounter for the first time this year.