Nirmal, Abhishek help Richmond take upper hand

Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ Cricket Quarter-Final

by Reemus Fernando

With a rain threat looming large, spinners Tharinda Nirmal and Sharon Abhishek did well for Richmond to contain St. Benedict’s to 175 runs on day one of the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ two-day tournament quarter-final cricket encounter at Dombagoda on Monday.

Points awarded for wickets and runs come into decide the team advancing to the next stage when rain prevent decisions of knockout stage matches. Richmond showed that they were eager to avoid disappointments of rain by restricting their opponents to 175 runs.

Only 73 overs were possible on day one but Richmond were ahead of their rivals according to points as they restricted the Bens to 175 runs.

Deciding to bat first St. Benedict’s lost four wickets for 43 runs before Sharujan Shanmuganathan dropped anchor with a determined knock of 70 runs. He scored just three fours during his 152-ball stay. Skipper Chamath Chathurya with a valuable knock of 38 runs (104 balls) and Arshan Joseph with an unbeaten 19 were the only other batsmen to resist.

Nirmal was the pick of the bowlers for Richmond as he bowled the buck of overs with Abhishek. Both spinners bowled 21 overs each and shared seven wickets between them to keep alive their chances of advancing to the semi-finals of the tournament.

They will now be aiming to take the first innings advantage today.

The winners of this match will encounter the winners of the quarter-final between St. Joseph’s and Wesley.

In the top half of the tournament, Trinity are scheduled to meet Royal, while Maliyadeva encounter St. Sebastian’s, Moratuwa.

Scores:

St. Benedict’s

175 all out in 73 overs (Viduneth Wilson 20, Sharujan Shanmuganathan 70, Chamath Chathurya 38, Aarshan Joseph 19n.o.; Tharinda Nirmal 4/51, Sharon Abhishek 3/42)