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129th Blues Battle at the SSC:

Thomians go in with a better record than Royal

Get Banuka Rajapaksa and Kusal Perera early! That would be the advice from Thomian coach Ranil Abeynaike to his boys as S. Thomas’ meet Royal in their 129th Battle of the Blues three-day cricket encounter which starts at SSC grounds, Maitland Place today.

The Thomians would march into the big ‘un on a better footing than their opponents. With six wins to their credit and those sweet memories of their last year’s innings and 44-run victory, S. Thomas’ would go favourites but Royal is equally capable of painting a different picture when it matters most.

“We virtually have that last year’s team, except for three batsmen. We do not have last year’s two centurions but we have found equally good replacements in Fahim Saleem who has aggregated over 950 runs,” Abeynaike said yesterday.

He said the Thomians would be in an advantageous position as they have the same bowling attack, which ran through Royal batting twice at last year’s big match. “We have the same bowling line-up. Milan Fernando has been shaping well capturing over 100 wickets. If we could get Banuka Rajapaksa and Kusal Perera early, our task would be easier,” he continued.

The SSC stalwart who has excelled as a cricketer, commentator and curator said the Thomians are well placed in their lead-up to the big match and are looking forward to make their presence felt.

In contrast, his vis-a-vis, Chulaka Amarasinghe, the former Royal captain turned coach, said they are concentrating on ground fielding that could ultimately play a decisive role. “Catches win matches. If we could concentrate on our fielding and even go for those half chances and turn them in our favour, we could make a big impact,” he said.

Royal coach Amarasinghe asked not to assess his team on season’s track record as they have not played their full team in most of the games due to various reasons.

“But we are at full strength and all geared up for the big match. We have a well balanced side and are ready to take the challenge and prove ourselves,” a determined Amarasinghe observed. The Royal coach was not disturbed by last year’s defeat.

“Past is past and we are not thinking what happened last year. It would be a new approach and what matters is how you play the game on that particular day,” he added.

Both sides may make slight changes in their final X1s. Royal would opt for four quick bowlers who could extract some early life from the SSC wicket, if they field first. Winning the toss at the SSC would be a big advantage.

The side winning the toss this morning would not hesitate to take the first lease, unless bad weather influences the captain who calls right. Despite recent wet weather, the SSC track could still held the batsmen. But the bowlers too could become hostile as the game progresses.

The side batting first should be extra cautious in negotiating the first one hour as their opponent pacemen could make use of early life. But if their top order could survive today’s post lunch session without losing wickets, then the side batting first could head for a healthy total.

At the same time, if the quick bowlers of the fielding side this morning could maintain a good line and length, then they could trouble their opponent batsmen more often.

Sharing the new ball for Royal would be Charith Fernando and left-arm Yasith Abeykoon with Sahan Hattiarachchi and Bhanuka Rajapaksa as fast medium change bowlers. But the team would depend heavily on spinners Haroon Mowjood and Kanishka Boteju, who have shared over 100 wickets between them this season.

The Thomians will have the luxury of the identical bowling attack which brought Royal’s royalty down to earth last year. Nilushan Fernando and Ruchira de Silva will open the pace attack with Dinesh Walpita and Navid Ghany to follow. Besides the main weapon in the Thomian spin armoury - Milan Fernando, skipper Thahir too is capable of a merciless spin.

The Battle of the Blues, started way back in 1879, will be played for the 15th successive year at the SSC. Of the 127 matches played so far, S. Thomas’ takes the leads with 34 wins to Royal’s 33 with the rest drawn. Dialog Telekom has been the proud sponsor of the Battle of the series for the last eight years.

Thanks to the keen interest shown by that great Royal-Thomian combination of Nushad Perera (General Manager - Sales & Marketing and Dialog TV chief) and Dr. Hans Wijeyasuriya (CEO) to promote sports, the leading mobile communication giant, Dialog Telekom has once again come to power the rich traditions of the Battle of the Blues.

Probable teams:

Royal: Sahan Hettiarachchi, Chalaka Bogoda, Kusal Perera, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dilan Nanayakkara (Captain), Charith Fernando (vice captain), Kithruwan Vidanage, Haroom Mowjood, Charutha Rajaratne, Kanishka Boteju, Yasith Abeykoon.

S. Thomas’: Jehaan Thahir (Captain), Fahim Saleem, Raveenthirarajh Nirrushan, Ashan Fernando, Thilina Nugawela, Navid Ghany, Viswa Weerawardene, Ruchira de Silva (Vice Captain), Dinesh Walpita, Nilushan Fernando, Milan Fernando.

Umpires: Asoka de Silva and Jagath Nandakumar.

 

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