Calcutta: St Lawrence High School recorded a mammoth 611-run victory over Khalsa High School in the opening group A match of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) inter-school tournament (under-16) at the High Court ground Thursday.

In the 45-overs-a-side match that lasted less than four hours, St Lawrence, after being put in to bat, notched up 625 for four, thanks to unbeaten centuries from Sandipan Dey and Avishek Jha. The score included 168 penalty runs, after Khalsa HS failed to complete their quota of overs — short by seven overs — within the stipulated three hours.

Chasing 626, Khalsa HS were bundled out for 14 in 5.2 overs, with Soumya Biswas recording a hattrick.

The CAB, however, could not confirm if the margin of victory was a record. “We don’t keep a track of past performances in school or junior cricket. So we cannot say if this is a record,” said a CAB official. However, there are instances of schools winning by such huge margins in other states.

Khalsa HS’s performance, drew a lot of flak. “They (Khalsa) never seemed to have played cricket. If this is the standard of the game then one should think twice before participating in a tournament,” former Bengal cricketer and St Lawrence coach Kalyan Dhall said.

About 48 city schools divided into 12 groups are participating in the meet, which started Thursday. The group toppers will face each other in the knock-out stage which is expected to continue till mid-May.

BRIEF SCORES

St Lawrence High School 625/4 (Sandipan Dey 153 ..; Avishek Jha 121 ..). Khalsa HS 14 (Soumya Biswas 4/0). St Lawrence won by 611 runs.