The First XI Cricket Team of Royal College captained by Harith Samarasinghe began the New Year on a satisfactory note when they drew the 1^st XI encounter against Royal College, Panadura in a highly competitive game with the batsmen from both teams dominating proceedings.

The match commenced at Reid Avenue on the 5^th of January, a cloudy Monday morning. Royal College Panadura subsequently won the toss and decided to invite the hosts to take first lease of the wicket on a pitch which seemed to be very favourable to the batsmen.

The home team got off to a steady but shaky start on day one with the collapse of wickets in frequent intervals. However Royal College managed to stand tall with the score of 128-5 at the lunch break. The hosts dominated the next session of play as the former captain and elegant stroke maker Chamika Karunarathne smashed a brilliant 167 not out which comprised of many deliveries sailing over the fence. It indeed was a special moment for Chamika when he reached his 150 with a blistering six. This aggressive innings by Chamika was well supported by Geeshath Panditharathne and Randev Pathirana who contributed 37 and 44 runs respectively. At the stroke of tea, Royal College who were in a commanding position declared with the score standing as 312-8.

The lads from Panadura who were posed with a challenging first inning score were well placed on 99-2 at the close of play on day one. Randev Pathirana bagged the two wickets.

Commencing the second day’s play, Royal College Panadura improvised on their overnight score of 99 and were sitting confident at 161-3.They further stabilized their innings and were well up to the task with the score of 190-4. However, the boys from Panadura had to undergo a destructive course of play as the Royal College spinner Lasith Embuldeniya displayed a magnificient spell of bowling and was rewarded with a five wicket haul. Hence, Royal College Panadura lost their remaining six wickets for the addition of only 21 runs and was bowled for a score of 211.

Royal College, who emerged victorious in the first innings, also possessed a first inning lead of 101. Royal College Panadura who lost their way half through the first innings, were asked to follow on. Being sent to bat again, the batsmen from Panadura fared better in their second innings as they scored 180-2 at the close of play with the match ending as a draw.

However, regardless of the result, Royal College would be happy with their performance with a lot of positive aspects to be taken out of this game. The highlights of the game would undoubtedly be the entertaining knock of 167 by the former Royal captain which was followed with a five wicket haul by spinner Lasith Embuldeniya.

Match Summary

Toss: Royal College Panadura, who chose to field first

Result: Match Drawn