62nd Battle of the Brothers: Spin pair Sethru, Vihas guide Thurstan to seventh series win

By M. Shamil Amit

Right-arm spin pair Sethru Fernando and Vihas Thewmika shared eight wickets between them to lay the foundation for Thurstan to record a convincing ten-wicket win over traditional rivals in the 62nd Battle of the Brothers, concluded at the SSC ground yesterday.

Isipathana came into the field in the final having to erase a deficit of 54 runs to take the challenge to the Thurstan camp. But Sethru wrecked the top-order batting, bagging four scalps, and along with Vihas, had them struggling on 68 for 5.

Isipathana, from there on, never recovered as Sethru and Vihas continued to torment them. With defeat staring at their faces, the Isipathana players, under tremendous pressure, collapsed, losing the remaining five wickets for the addition of just 36 runs, being bundled out for a low score of 104 runs.

Thurstan, in pursuit of just 51 runs for victory, was steered by openers Dinal Induwara and Tanuja Rajapakse, who raced to the target with the minimum of fuss, for Thurstan to record their seventh win of the series to Isipathana’s four.