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| Thursday, 3 March 2005 |
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76th Battle of the Maroons: Anandians confident of maintaining their impressive record by Chris Dhambarage Ananda College with five outright victories to their credit in the current season are brimming with confidence and are hoping to maintain their impressive record when they take on the traditional rivals Nalanda College in their 76th annual inter school Big Match to be worked off on Saturday and Sunday at the SSC grounds, Maitland Place. The Anandians have proved that they are a top side this year recording victories against Trinity College Kandy, Dharmasoka College Ambalangoda, Sri Rahula Maha Vidyalaya Katugastota, Wesley College and St. Benedict's College Kotahena. Their biggest influence of course is their captain Mahela Udawatte who has already crossed the one thousand run mark including five centuries. The fourth year coloursman has turned out to be a prolific run getter this year and has also five other half centuries to his credit. The Anandians will be more than pleased with their overall performances in the current season which has been a good preparation for their Big Match. They seem to have a variety of bowlers who could exploit different conditions and under different circumstances. But the most significant fact is that the Anandians have concentrated on team work for success with every one making a contribution with bat or ball. The only setback for the Anandians was when they collapsed to 46 for 8 while chasing a victory target of 153 runs from 22 overs in the match against Dharmaraja College Kandy and played at Ananda Mawatha. However they had the satisfaction of regaining the P. W. Perera trophy by virtue of obtaining a first innings lead over their opponents. This match was also a memorable one for skipper Mahela Udawatte who completed his fifth century for the season in the most spectacular manner and became the first schoolboy to top the one thousand run mark. Earlier Udawatte had plundered a magnificent unbeaten 152 against St. Benedict's College which the Anandians won convincingly by an innings. The Anandians then proved their all round capabilities when they defeated Wesley College by five wickets in a low scoring inter school cricket match played at Ananda Mawatha. In a match dominated by the bowlers the Anandians looked more superior despite going through some anxious moments during the final session. They were probably too excited and nervous with the situation because they were left with a mere 73 runs for victory in their second innings. The Anandians turned the game in their favour through some penetrative bowling while restricting the opposition to just 84 runs in the second innings. Off spinner Achala Ranasinghe did the damage in the first innings with a four wicket haul while Charith Jayaweera added the finishing touches capturing five wickets in the second innings. In the bowling department vice captain Achala Ranasinghe has taken over 70 wickets for the current season with a best effort of 6 wickets for 19 runs against Sri Rahula College Katugastota. The third year coloursman has captured five wickets in an innings on four occasions and four wickets in an innings on six occasions. Ranasinghe claimed 5 for 36 against Richmond College Galle, 5 for 32 against Dharmasoka College Ambalangoda and 6 for 51 against S. Thomas' College Mount Lavinia. In addition he returned figures of 4 for 29 against Dharmasoka College Ambalangoda, 4 for 23 against Trinity College Kandy, 4 for 32 against Wesley College, 4 for 29 against St. Benedict's College and 4 for 112 against Prince of Wales College Moratuwa. Charith Jayaweera is another consistent performer this season where he has captured over 55 wickets. The third year coloursman claimed five wickets in an innings on four occasions against Royal (5 for 20), Dharmasoka College Ambalangoda (5 for 27), St. Anthony's College (5 for 15) and Wesley College (5 for 18). In addition opening batsman and third year coloursman Pradeep Boteju has performed his role quite effectively scoring over six hundred runs including a century and three half centuries. His opening partner Amal Athulathmudali has shown a lot of promise scoring over 350 runs despite playing in his first year. Fourth year coloursman Thilina Kumarasinghe is no doubt the most experienced player in the team having captained the first eleven team last year. This time he has over 340 runs to his credit including three half centuries and his presence will be a tremendous boost for the Anandians in this years Big Match. |
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