Sports

Superb century by Pradeep Boteju

BY CHRIS Dhambarage

THE 76th annual inter school Battle of the Maroons Big Match between the traditional rivals Ananda College and Nalanda College ended in a tame draw at the SSC grounds, Maitland Place yesterday. Bad light and rain ruined play on both days.

The main highlight in this year's match was the superb century scored by Ananda opener Pradeep Boteju and the bowling performance of leg spinner Gihan Rupasinghe who completed one hundred wickets for the current season.

Boteju played the sheet anchor role for Ananda and struck fourteen fours and one six facing 201 balls and occupying the crease for 271 minutes.

The Anandians of course lost the important wicket of their captain and the consistent run getter Mahela Udawatte quite cheaply.

Udawatte who became the first schoolboy cricketer to complete one thousand runs for the season was dismissed by Rupasinghe who with that wicket topped the one hundred wicket mark for the current season.

However Boteju carried Ananda towards safety with a determined batting performance adding 91 runs for the third wicket along with Thilina Kumarasinghe. The last years captain played well according to the sutuation while rotating the strike and his solid knock of 43 included six boundaries.

Earlier Ananda got off to a good start with the openers Boteju and Amal Athulathmudali putting on 58 runs. But they lost two quick wickets and immediately got into a shell before Boteju and Kumarasinghe turned the game in their favour.

The Nalandians used as many as seven bowlers but at the end it was Gihan Rupasinghe who emerged as the most successful bowler with three wickets for 79 runs.

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NALANDA 1ST INNINGS 227 FOR 9 DECL.

ANANDA 1ST INNINGS

Pradeep Boteju c Kariyapperuma b Serasinghe                  114
Amal Athulathmudali c Hewawitharana b Rupasinghe           20
Mahela Udawatte c Attanayake b Rupasinghe                       6
Thilina Kumarasinghe c and b Warnapura                           43
Wishwa Wijesuriya c Weerasinghe b Rupasinghe                  14
Ranganath Wijethunga not out                                            9
Chatura Herath not out                                                       9

Extras                                                                               14

TOTAL for 5 wickets                                                         229

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-58, 2-76, 3-167, 4-201, 5- 214

BOWLING: G. Rupasinghe 39-11-79-3, M. Weerasinghe 16-2-46-0, Y. Hewawitharana 4-0-10-0, P. Kariyapperuma 4-0-21-0, S. Abeysinghe 1-0-4-0, S. Serasinghe 21-7-43-1, M. Warnapura 2-0-7-1.