Archives

by Chris Dhambarage

Ananda recorded a historic win over their traditional rivals Nalanda ending a 21 year long wait in their 74th annual Battle of the Maroons cricket encounter at the SSC grounds, Maitland Place last week.

The Anandians went into this game as the underdogs and completely dominated the scene with an outstanding performance. Without a win in the current inter school season Ananda got their act together at the correct time to complete a memorable victory at the end. They made their intentions clear from the start and took the initiative by restricting the opposition for a modest total of 152 for 8.

The Anandians never looked back from thereonwards and consolidated their position with skipper Damindu Kularatne completing a magnificent century. The stylish opener made sure that his team would get a substantial first innings lead by compiling 109 runs in their impressive total of 259 for 4 declared. Kularatne batted with a great amount of determination and received good support from Pradeep Boteju, Mahela Udawatte and Janudika Sriyapala.

The Nalandians in their second innings succumbed under pressure as they collapsed to a disappointing 99 runs in less then two sessions of play. They were overcautious in their approach towards the game and eventually paid the penalty. The Anandians exploited the situation well and picked up wickets at regular intervals through their spinners.

In fact left arm spinner Achela Ranasinghe was the matchwinner as he ripped through the Nalanda middle order with a deadly spell of bowling. He conceded just 18 runs from 15 overs and captured four crucial wickets. In addition Rakitha Wimaladharma and Senanayake also bowled exceptionally well to have the Nalanda batsmen guessing all the time.

St. Joseph's v St. Peter's

Meanwhile traditional rivals St. Joseph's and St. Peter's played out another draw with the honours shared between the two teams. Even then the Peterites did have a chance of forcing a victory at one stage when they reduced the opposition to 29 for 4 after having declared their first innings at a formidable 255 for 7. But the Joes were rescued by the combination of Shenal Warnakula and Angelo Mathews who figured in a century stand for the fifth wicket.

Both Mathews and Warnakula played their natural game and were not too concerned about the pressure or the situation of the game. They went about their task in their own style and were rewarded as the Josephians reduced the margin to just 77 runs. This was a fine effort by the Joes who were at one stage in danger of being asked to follow on. The Peterites had the all the reasons to feel confident on the opening day because their batting line up clicked well with the entire top order striking form.

Gihan de Silva made the maximum use of the perfect batting conditions to score a century which he would remember for quite some time. The left hander who has been among the runs in the current season continued with his excellent form stroking the ball to all parts of the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium. Josephian skipper Deshan Bastiampillai too came closer of reaching the three figure mark before falling short by ten runs.

His innings was an important one for the side after the Peterites had set a tough victory target during the final session of the game. In fact the Peterites delayed their declaration until the tea interval despite enjoying an overall lead of over two hundred runs. Hans Fernando grabbed the opportunity to score an unbeaten 72 and the Josephian wicket keeper Tharindu Ariyawansa stole the limelight with six victims behind the stumps.

Prince of Wales v Nalanda

Prince of Wales College had a good work out ahead of the Big Match as they took major honours in their drawn fixture against Nalanda last week. The Cambrians had the satisfaction of obtaining a first innings lead with their star player Sahan Wijeratne in tremendous form. The Schoolboy Cricketer of the year produced a superb all round performance while signalling a warning to their traditional rivals St. Sebastian's College.

Sahan Wijeratne had a fine spell of bowling capturing six for 83 in the first innings as the Nalandians were bundled out for just under two hundred runs. Wijeratne then proved his class with the bat stroking an elegant knock of 63 which helped his team declare the first innings at 249 for 9. Asantha Chethana also chipped in with a useful half century as the Cambrians built up a substantial first innings lead over their opponents.

St. Sebastian's v St. Benedict's

St. Sebastian's College Moratuwa too had their final preparations for the Big Match with an impressive performance against St. Benedict's College at Kotahena. The Sebastianites further underlined their supremacy by piling up over three hundred runs in the first innings without any great difficulties. Tharaka Peiris led the way with a near century and the Sebastianites overtook the Benedictine total quite easily.

St. Benedict's v St. Anne's

The Benedictines also suffered another setback losing on the first innings to St. Anne's College Kurunegala at Kotahena. The Benedictines were rescued by their seventh wicket pair of Sisil de Silva and Sunesh Rodrigo who figured in a face saving stand of 91 runs. The former hit a solid knock of 67 with eleven fours after the top order had collapsed. But St. Anne's College put up a superb batting performance to snatch a thrilling first innings win with Roshan Abeyratne compiling an excellent century under tremendous pressure.

St. Servatius v S. Thomas'

Meanwhile the 103rd Battle of Ruhuna between St. Servatius College and S. Thomas' College ended in a draw at the Uyanwatte Stadium in Matara. St. Servatius College had the satisfaction of taking a first innings lead of 79 runs and then set a victory target of 234 runs to be made in 35 overs. But the Thomians put up their shutters and reached 116 for the loss of 3 wickets in 30 overs.

Kasun Bodisha of St. Servatius College had a good game scoring 81 runs in the first innings and 39 in the second innings while the Thomian right-arm off-spinner R. Kaushal captured 8 wickets in the first innings and finished with a matchbag of ten wickets.

Royal v Trinity

Royal had their final preparations before the important Big Match as they took major honours in the drawn fixture against Trinity College at Reid Avenue. Two of their key players Tharaka Kottahewea had a superb outing claiming six wickets and skipper Rochana Wijeratne warmed up with a splendid century in the first innings.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager