St. Peter’s beat St Joseph's by 26 runs to regain the shield after 5 years

St. Peter’s College regained the Rev. Fr. Peter Pillai Memorial Shield after a five years, beating St. Joseph’s College by 26 runs in their 48th annual Limited Overs Cricket Encounter played at SSC Grounds today (8).

St. Joseph’s led the tally with 24 wins after 48 games, whilst St. Peter’s registered their 21st win. 

Josephians used the good bowling conditions perfectly well as the Peterites were 6 down for 61 in the 16th over. 

However, St. Peter’s College Skipper Wanuja Kumara smashed a brilliant, hundred to rescue  the team along with Danal Hemananda, who made 81 after they were reeling at 61/6.

Skipper Wanuja Kumara and Hemananda batted with great composure as they added 174 runs for the 7th wicket and Skipper Kumara reached his hundred in the 49th over.

After scoring 245 in their 50 overs, the Peterite spinners then bowled extremely well to restrict St. Joseph’s to 219.

Chasing 246 runs to win, St. Joseph’s College lost Sahan Dabare in the very first over due to a mix-up in the middle, resulting in a run-out. However, the Josephian chase was bolstered with a record-breaking 147-run stand for the second wicket by Shevon Daniel and Sadeesh Jayawardene. The Josephian Captain fell short of a well-deserved century, which triggered a collapse for the Josephians.

St. Joseph’s required 70 runs to win in the last 10 overs with 6 wickets at hand. Dunith Wellalage and Hiran Jayasundara kept St. Joseph’s in the hunt, despite the required run-rate nearing 9 runs per over.

However, the Peterite spinners were superb towards the end of the Josephians innings, especially Niman Umesh and Shennon Rodrigo, who ended with 3 wickets apiece as St. Joseph’s middle order faltered in the second half of their innings.

Scores;

St. Peter’s College – 245/8 (50) – Wanuja Kumara 102*, Shenal Botheju 34, Danal Hemananda 81, Muditha Dissanayake 3/43, Deshan Senevirathne 2/45.

St. Joseph’s College – 226/7 (50) – Sadeesh Jayawardene 61, Shevon Daniel 91, Dunith Wellalage 28, Niman Umesh 3/34, Shennon Rodrigo 3/32, Wanuja Kumara 2/50.