Trinity’s Anthony too much for Antonians

 Antonian bowler Chaninu Senaratne appeals for a wicket

By Shamseer Jaleel in Kandy

The 107th Battle of the Blues match between Trinity College and St. Anthony’s College commenced at the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy yesterday with the opening day dominated largely by the Trinity bowlers as the Antonians were shot out for 157. 

In reply Trinity ended the first day on 66 for 3.

Winning the toss, Trinity elected to field first and their decision paid rich dividends as the Antonian batting struggled to settle on a wicket that offered assistance to the bowlers during the morning session.

The Katugastota lads suffered an early collapse losing three quick wickets for just 11 runs on the board, placing themselves under immense pressure. Trinity bowlers maintained a tight line and length giving the Antonian batsmen very little room to score freely.

A brief recovery came through a valuable fourth wicket partnership between Sisal Hemaka and Dinul Wijesinghe as the pair added 48 runs to the total and brought some stability to the innings after the early setbacks.

Wijesinghe played a patient supporting role while Hemaka began to settle in at the crease. Their partnership helped rebuild the innings and gave the Antonians some much-needed momentum midway through the innings.

Antonain skipper Kaushika Kumarasinghe then stepped up with a confident display, playing a positive knock to lift the scoring rate. Batting with authority, the captain compiled a quick-fire 44 runs which included four boundaries and two towering sixes.

Kumarasinghe also shared an important fifth wicket stand of 64 runs with Sisal Hemaka which helped push the Antonian total past the 150-run mark. 

Hemaka meanwhile continued to anchor the innings with a composed approach, carefully negotiating the Trinity attack while picking up runs when opportunities arose. He remained unbeaten on a well compiled 64 which included five boundaries and one massive six, standing firm despite the steady fall of wickets at the other end.

Among the Trinity bowlers, spinner Kanilka Anthony was the pick of the attack finishing with impressive figures of four wickets for 54 runs. 

In reply Trinity began their innings with a magnificent unbeaten half ton by national youth player Dimantha Mahavithana who was on 52 while the home team lost three wickets cheaply. 

Scores:

St. Anthony’s 157 (Sisil Hemaka 64, Dinul Wijesinghe 15, Kaushika Kumarasinghe 44, Chaniru Senaratne 2 for 30, Dinal Fernando 2 for 9, Kanilka Anthony 2 for 54)

Trinity 66 for 3 (Dimantha Mahavithana 52 not out)