The Thomian Old Boys Cricket Team of California (TAC) pulled off a sensational 3 wicket victory over their arch rivals the Royal College Old Boys Association of North America in their annual encounter played at the Woodley Cricket Grounds in California earlier today.
The Thomians set to chase down a target of 183 runs in 30 overs, pulled off the nail biter after number nine batter Anushka Giinawardena thumped a straight six in the penultimate over. The Thomians who beat the Royalists after seven long years eventually romped home with five balls to spare.
The Victorius Thomian skipper Shammika Rodrigo receiving the trophy from the Royal College OBA President.
Earlier in their run chase, the Thomians after getting off to a cautious start batted their middle over period by rotating the strike and dispatching the loose deliveries away to the boundary. Vishan De Mel who flew down from Toronto Canada was exceptional during this period stroking an elegant 67 runs made off 64 deliveries which included six hits to the ropes. De Mel was ably supported by Lakshan Liyanage who himself scored 34 off 36 deliveries which included 3 fours.
Thomian number three batter Vishan De Mel padded up and ready to go before scoring a match winning knock of 67 runs.
There was a slight stutter towards the end when the Royalists came back strong to capture a flurry of wickets. The Thomians were precariously placed at 153 for 6 at the end of the 26th over, still requiring 30 runs to be made off four overs.
However the Thomian skipper Shammika Rodrigo who remained unbeaten on 11, shepherded his tail before Anushka Gunawardana sealed the deal for the school by the sea when he clobbered a monstrous six off the solitary ball he faced.
An ecstatic Gunawardena speaking to The Morning Telegraph after the win said “the bowler was sending down a series of yorkers in that penultimate over. For my luck it fell in my zone and as the saying goes ‘if it’s in the ark then it ought to go out of the park’, and that’s exactly what happened. I was fortunate to middle it well too.”
It was a double celebration for the Thomians, when their veterans side went on to defend the trophy they secured last year, trouncing the Old Royalists by 9 wickets in a 5 over softball game. They were led by their astute skipper Dr. Amila Perera who incidentally led their side last year too.
Chief scores:
Old Royalists 182 for 9 in 30 overs (Royal OBA (LA California) 182 for 9 in 30 overs (Manjula Don 56, Peshaan Wedanarachchi 48, Aruk Suraweera 36, Daniel Suppiah 2 for 32, Naveen Peiris 2 for 30 and Lakshan Liyanage 2 for 41)
Old Thomians (TAC) 183 for 7 in 29.1 overs (Vishan De Mel 67, Lakshan Liyanage 34, Danushka Weragoda 2 for 26, Chameera Ekanayake 2 for 37)
Player of the Match: Vishan De Mel (Old Thomians -TAC)
