By: Susil Premalal

Colombo, Feb. 21 (Daily Mirror) - Dialog Axiata PLC has extended corporate backing for the 19th year as official sponsor of the country’s blue ribbon cricket encounter, the 145th Battle of the Blues Big Match between the traditional rivals Royal College and S. Thomas’ College - played for the prestigious Rt. Hon. D. S. Senanayake Memorial Shield on March 7, 8 and 9 at the SSC Grounds in Maitland Place.

In this year’s encounter, the Boys from Mount Lavinia will be led by Mahith Perera while the lads from Reid Avenue will play under the captaincy of Sineth Jayawardena, the Under-19 Sri Lanka Skipper.

The current tally between the two schools has Royal leading with 36 wins to S. Thomas’ 35, with the highly debated match in 1885 - where Royal were all out for nine runs and refused to play on the second day - considered a win by S. Thomas’ and a draw by Royal (as described in the respective souvenirs of the two schools).

In the 144th Battle of the Blues, under Dasis Manchanayake, Royal recorded a comprehensive 181-run win to register their first victory since 2016.

Meanwhile, Dialog initiated the 'Play for a Cause' charity initiative with a mission to uplift school cricket across Sri Lanka. Through a generous pledge of Rs. 1,000 for every run scored and Rs. 10,000 for every wicket taken, last year's encounter raised a substantial donation of Rs. 1,128,000.

The proceedings were distributed in consultation with the Principal of Royal and the Warden of S. Thomas’.

This commendable effort helped support and empower four deserving schools in the country.

The Royal-Thomian series spans an impressive 144 years, making it the second longest uninterrupted cricket series in the world, behind the annual encounter between St. Peter’s College, Adelaide, and Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, Australia, which began just a year earlier. (Pix: Pradeep Pathirana)