St. John’s College emerged triumphant in the 117th Battle of the North cricket encounter against Jaffna Central College. The three-day match, held at the Jaffna Central College grounds, witnessed St. John’s effortlessly achieving victory, thereby reclaiming the coveted trophy.
The final day of the match saw Jaffna Central’s tailenders, Vikneswaran Paruthi and Murali Thison, attempting to salvage the last wicket. However, Paruthi’s dismissal by Mahenthiran Kinthusan set a target of 79 runs for St. John’s. St. John’s comfortably chased down the target with openers Uthayanan Abijoyshanth and Sachin Kanabathi leading the charge.
In the first innings, Jaffna Central, led by Captain Nishanthan Ajay, elected to bat but struggled against St. John’s bowlers Arulseelan Kavishan and Kugathas Mathulan. Sagathevan Sayanthan was the only significant contributor, scoring 55 runs. St. John’s responded with a formidable score of 228 runs in their first innings, securing a 71-run lead. Captain Nesakumar Ebenezer led the charge with a half-century.
Despite a brief resurgence by Jaffna Central’s Thakuthas Abilash, who claimed four wickets, St. John’s maintained dominance. Jaffna Central faltered in their second innings, failing to mount a substantial total. St. John’s reached the modest target without losing a wicket.
St. John’s claimed their 39th victory in the historic rivalry, surpassing Central’s 29 wins. Individual awards were bestowed, including Best Bowler (Arulseelan Kavishan), Best Batter (Sagathevan Sayanthan), Best Fielder (Jeyachandran Ashnath), Best All-Rounder (Nesakumar Ebenezer), Best Wicketkeeper (Sangerth Graeme Smith), and Man of the Match (Uthayanan Abijoyshanth).
The 21st Limited Overs Encounter between the schools is scheduled for March 16 at St. John’s College grounds.
Stay tuned for more updates on this thrilling cricket rivalry as the schools continue to battle it out on the field.
Jaffna Central College
First innings – 157/10 in 56.5 overs Sagathevan Sayanthan 55(117), Sathakaran Similton 22(58), Arulseelan Kavishan 5/34, Kugathas Mathulan 3/52 Second innings – 149/10 in 57.1 overs Nishanthan Ajay 23, Stanley Jesunesan Samson 2/18, Kirupananthan Kajakarnan 2/27, Jeyachandran Ashnath 2/30
St. John’s College
First innings – 228/10 in 70.4 overs Nesakumar Ebenezer 52 (99), Uthayanan Abijoyshanth 39 (38), Anderson Sachin Kanabathi 40 (119), Thakuthas Abilash 4/24, Murali Thison 4/64 Second innings – 81/0 in 15 overs Uthayanan Abijoyshanth 50(49), Anderson Sachin Kanabathi 30(42)
St. John’s won by 10 wickets
