87th Battle of the Saints Shenuka, Lahiru shine in drawn Saints battle

Shenal Boteju made a top score of 62 for St. Peter’s  -Picture by Waruna Wanniarachchi

By M. Shamil Amit

Right-arm spinners Shenuka de Silva and Lahiru Amarasekera shone for St. Joseph’s College in the drawn game against traditional rivals St. Peter’s College in the 87th Battle of the Saints encounter concluded at the SSC ground yesterday

The duo shared six wickets between them to bowl out St. Peter’s for a low score of 138 in reply to St. Joseph’s score of 261 for 7 declared. Peterite opener Shenal Boteju was the only batsman to put in some resistance as he made a top score of 62 with four boundaries and shared a 35 runs partnership for the fourth wicket with skipper Nipunaka Fonseka who chipped with a 19.  

The late order batting of St. Peter’s failed to make any impression as from 119 for 5 they lost their remaining five wickets for the addition of just 22 runs.  

The Peterites made to follow on with a deficit of 123 runs saw Lahiru Dewatage making an unbeaten half ton as they ended the day on 82 for 2.  

The morning session of play saw St Joseph’s resuming from their overnight score of 233 for 6 after adding a further 28 runs making a declaration with the score of 261 for 7 from the allotted 60 overs that a team could bat in the first innings with overnight batsman Hiran Jayasundara who was on 49 going on to reach his half ton and remained unbeaten on 53 which had four boundaries.