St. Peter’s College reach Murali Harmony Cup final

Colombo’s premier school team of last year produced a professional display after putting Anuradhapura Central College into bat.

Anuradhapura struggled against some aggressive and disciplined bowling with Chemila Obeysekera taking 5 for 27.

St. Peter’s confidently chased their 126-run target with man-of-the-match Dushan Hemantha batting intelligently and stylishly for his unbeaten 56.

Jeson Bultjuns, one of the leading runscorers in the tournament, recovered from a nasty head injury while taking a brilliant running catch to contribute 27.

St. Peter’s got home with 27 balls remaining to enjoy a comfortable victory.

The Murali Harmony Cup is a 20-team reconciliation tournament staged to promote community-building and friendship in post-war Sri Lanka.

The five-day tournament has been jointly organised by Muttiah Muralidaran’s charity the Foundation of Goodness, travel company Red Dot Tours, the International Cricket Council and the Sri Lanka Army.

St. Peter’s will face the winner of Tuesday’s second semi-final between Maliyadeva College Kurunegala and Jaffna Combined School in Wednesday’s final.

Scorecard:

St Peter’s College v Anuradhapura Central

Anuradhapura Central 124 for 9 in 20 overs (Suresh Nivanthaka 25*, Dilshan Chamika 24, Chemila Obeysekera 5 for 27, Julian de Zilva 3 for 19)St Peter’s College 128 for 5 in 15.3 overs (Dushan Hemantha 56*, Jeson Bultjuns 27, Kasun Weeranga 2 for 22)

St Peter’s College won by 5 wickets