COLOMBO – Royal College mashed a 70-year-old all-time batting record to post an impressive 326 for eight on the opening day of the 144th Battle of the Blues Inter-School Big Match against the traditional rivals S. Thomas’ College, which began at the SSC Grounds in Maitland Place on Thursday.
Skipper Dasis Manchanayake and Ramiru Perera figured in a record fifth wicket partnership as Royal dominated the last two sessions of the game after they had lost four wickets during an eventful first two hours.
The pair came together when Royal were struggling at 63 for four after they were put into bat by S. Thomas’ on a grass top with the overcast conditions helping the seam bowlers.
But Manchanayake and Perera produced one of the greatest fightbacks in the Big Match series as they mixed caution with aggression to put up a fifth wicket stand of 229 runs with both completing magnificent centuries.
The Royal pair shattered the previous all-time fifth wicket partnership of 187 runs held by the legendary P. I. Peiris (123) and Geoff Wijesinghe (64) in the 1953 encounter.
The situation was tailor-made for the inform batsman Manchanayake, who anchored the innings beautifully and then decided to counterattack after having completed the three-figure mark in 120 balls with the help of 11 boundaries.
Meanwhile, for young Perera this was a memorable occasion as he joined a select band of players to score a century in his debut Big Match.
Perera reached his century in 168 deliveries and hoisted one six and 12 boundaries and put on 229 for the fifth wicket with Manchanayake as they fell just 25 runs short of erasing the highest partnership for any wicket.
SCOREBOARD
Royal 1st innings
Rehan Peris c Hettiarachchi b Fernando 04
Sineth Jayawardena b Caldera 01
Ovina Abanpola b Fernando 30
Uvindu Weerasekara c Caldera b Dais 03
Dasis Manchanayake b Dias 137
Ramiru Perera c Mendis b Dias 128
Sandesh Ramanayake lbw b Fernando 00
Sanvidu Senarathaarachchi not out 08
Bulan Weerathunga b Fernando 02
Nethwin Dharmaratne not out 00
Extras: (wd2, lb2, nb3, b6) 13
Total: (8 wkts, 74 overs) 326
Fall: 1-4, 2-12, 3-19, 4-63, 5-292, 6-301, 7-321, 8-326
Bowling: Akash Fernando 13-1-55-4, Nathan Caldera 16-2-64-1, Kavindu Dais 13-2-58-3, Dineth Goonewardene 7-0-35-0, Charuka Peiris 13-0-55-0, Abheeth Paranawidana 10-0-39-0, Senadhi Bulankulama 1-0-3-0, Mahith Perera 1-0-9-0
