A match no one wanted to win or lose ends in draw

by Reemus Fernando

S. Thomas’ were in an advantageous position from the time they were asked to bat. Royal had an opportunity to come back once Sineth Jayawardane top scored with 92 runs. But in retrospect neither team looked set to take the initiative to go all out to strive for victory. Hence the D. S. Senanayake Memorial Shield remained in the custody of Royal College as the 145th Battle of the Blues ended in a draw at the SSC ground on Saturday.

The script however was much complex. Royal were entering the arena with mix fortunes. They had spent the last few matches training to bat more than 100 overs after the Maris Stella and Prince of Wales debacles. On a bating paradise their decision to bowl first was the first indication that Royal had come not to win but to settle for a draw. They would be better off settling down for a draw than risking the Shield they won last year.

Any fear of facing the Thomians’ pace department would have been justified on a wicket favourable for speedsters . But from the word go SSC wicket looked as if it had been tailormade for batsmen. Thomians did well to take the maximum from the opportunity during the first two sessions. At one stage they were 150 for one wicket and took tea on day one at 174 for two wickets.

However, after Sadev Soysa (83) and Dineth Goonewardene (50) departed Thomians failed to capitalize. Mahith Perera (36), Nathan Caldera(44) and Akash Fernando (29) made contributions of note but their patience ran out after settling down. In a three-day match and on a batsmen’s wicket a total of 297 runs was not going to put the opposition under pressure.

The Royal reply started in a disastrous fashion on day two morning as both openers were removed with just one run on the board. Royal skipper Sineth Jayawardane then steadied the ship with Ovina Ambanpola. Their partnership of 126 runs however cost them 49 overs. Rest of the batsmen too took the liberty of consuming as many as 50 overs to score the rest of their 150 runs before declaring on the third day.

From the time Royal declared their innings it was all individual achievements as the match was destined for a draw.Sineth Jayawardane won the Man of the Match award for his 92 runs and the four-wicket haul. Sadev Soysa’s 83 earned him the Best Batsman Award.

Ashen Perera won two awards, the Best Bowler and the Best Fielder.The SSC wicket offered very little for bowlers on this back drop Ashen Perera’s five wicket haul was a standout performance.