Edussuriya puts Royal College in control

St Thomas College 22 for 2 trail Royal College 294 for 6 dec (Edussuriya 140*, Ratnayake 49) by 272 runs
Scorecard

The Sri Lanka-Australia Test at Galle might be attracting all the international attention, but the 125th annual Royal-Thomian match - the famed three-day "Battle of the Blues" - at the Sinhalese Sports Club was all the talk in Colombo. And a superb hundred by Dhanushka Edussuriya, which gave Royal College the edge at the end of the first day, was sure to generate headlines tomorrow.

Edussuriya came to the crease with his side struggling on 60 for 4 after they had lost the toss and been inserted by St Thomas College. He added 101 for the fifth wicket with Ganganath Ratnayake (49) and then 134 for the sixth wicket in 30 overs with Manoj Morawake (45*).

In front of a decent crowd, including a fair number of politicians and corporate big-wigs, the morning session belonged to St Thomas as their seamers exploited the early moisture to rip through Royal's top-order.

But St Thomas's bowlers, bereft of Chathuranga Somapala who failed a late fitness test, lacked the penetration to press home their advantage, and Edussuriya's took charge. His innings was a masterpiece of timing and control - he reached his fifty in an hour-and-a-half, his hundred in three hours, and never allowed the bowlers to settle. His stand with Morawake left St Thomas's wilting, and enabled Royal to declare and give themselves 45 minutes to have a go at St Thomas.

The tactic worked, as both openers were dismissed in the nine overs before the close.