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Paediatricians
get the Physicians again
The
annual cricket encounter between the Sri Lanka College of
Paediatricians and the Ceylon College of Physicians was played
this year on Sunday September 7, at the Chandra Silva stadium in
Rajagiriya.
The
match started about an hour late due to the soggy ground
conditions and the Paediatricians started first by virtue of
their Captain, Dr.B.J.C.Perera winning the toss for the third
consecutive year. Dr. Nimal Lucas of table tennis fame and Dr.
Duminda Pathirana opened batting and went on a run-spree to the
tune of 52 runs for the first wicket in just 5 overs. The
scoring rate slowed down after that and at one stage they were
90 for 4 in 15 overs. An entertaining innings of 42 from
Dr.Nalaka Jayasinghe saw the paediatricians amass a formidable
score of 165 for 9 wickets in their allotted 25 overs.
It
really was a daunting task for the Physicians to get 166 in 25
overs with an asking rate of 6.6 an over. They lost their
opening batsman in the very first over and steadily collected
runs while regularly losing wickets as well. Although the
Physicians fought very hard, the brilliant fielding and throwing
of the Paediatricians made a big difference and at one stage the
Physicians were 106 for 5 in the 15th over. A late burst of
compelling pinch-hitting by Professor Saman Gunathilleke to the
tune of 43 runs saw them get to 145 for 9 at the end of the 23rd
over. At that stage they needed 21 from 12 balls to win the
match and had the large crowd on the edge of their seats. The
penultimate over was bowled by the Paediatrician's star bowler
Dr.Duminda Pathirana but he was hit for 18 runs in that over.
That left the equation as 5 runs to win in 6 balls with the last
pair at the crease. The first ball of the last over bowled by
Dr.Senaka Gunathilleke was a wide and the second ball was driven
for a single. Then the Physicians' last man lost his head and
hoisted the third ball very high over the mid-on region. Two
fielders converged on to the catch and the ball was swirling
around in the gusty wind making it very difficult to track it's
trajectory. However, following an acrobatic dive, the ball
landed safely in the hands of Dr.Priyantha Perera and it was all
over. The Physicians fell short by just 3 runs in 24.2 overs.
This was the most exciting finish in the series that has spanned
the last 7 years.
The
awards ceremony followed. Dr.Duminda Pathirana was adjudged the
best bowler, Professor Saman Gunathilleke the best batsman for
his entertaining 43. The man of the match award went to
Dr.Senaka Gunathilleke for taking 4 wickets and 2 fine catches.
The captain of the Paediatricians, Dr.B.J.C.Perera proudly
carried away the Challenge Trophy awarded to the winning team.
The Paediatricians have so far won the trophy for 4 years while
the Physicians have won it twice. The proceedings ended with a
session of fellowship, camaraderie and a traditional Sri Lankan
lunch.
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