Sports
Sri Lanka shot out for 157 at Bull Ring
Ruan van der Merwe at Wanderers
Not many Asian teams want to play at the Bull Ring. It’s not only one of the quickest wickets in the world alongside WACA in Australia, the high altitude of Johannesburg – 5750 feet –makes life difficult for players. The Wanderers is fondly known as the Bull Ring for its intimidate nature.
The Sri Lankans – depleted and moral down – after four who featured in the opening game being ruled out with injuries – shouldn’t lose hope though as far better teams have come to the Bull Ring and have eaten humble pie.
The only bright spot in the innings after they won the toss and opted to bat first was Kusal Perera, who batted superbly to post 60 runs off 67 balls with 11 fours.
Incidentally, it happens to be the highest score by a Sri Lankan here and only captain Dimuth Karunaratne had managed a half-century before Perera. This is Sri Lanka’s third Test match at the Bull Ring.
After the early dismissal of Karunaratne (19), Perera along with Lahiru Thirimanne had added 52 runs for the second wicket. Perera was doing all the scoring and with him picking up boundaries frequently, there were some worries among the Proteas.
But Wiaan Mulder provided the breakthrough to settle nerves. Mulder is not the typical South African fast bowler with outright pace. His strength is building up the pressure through disciplined seam bowling and he got the better of Perera who drove loosely and was caught at gully.
In the same over he dismissed Kusal Mendis for a duck and in the next over picked up Thirimanne for 17 and the Sri Lankans were in disarray.
Minod Bhanuka on debut showed his inexperience when he attempted to drive the last ball before lunch for four. But Anrich Nortje has that extra yard of pace and the bounce at Bull Ring is far more genuine than his home ground – SSC.
Mulder’s opening spell of three overs fetched him three wickets for just one run. He had set the stage for Nortje to dominate. His pace was too quick and the Sri Lankan tail couldn’t handle him.
Nortje finished with six for 56, the fourth best figures by a South African quick against Sri Lanka.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka 157 all out in 40.3 overs
(Kusal Perera 60, Wanindu Hasaranga 29, Dushmantha Chameera 22, Anrich Nortje 6/56, Wiaan Mulder 3/51)
South Africa 148 for 1 in 37 overs
(Dean Elgar 92, Rassie van der Dussen 40)
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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