129th Blues Battle at the SSC:
Thomians go in with a better record than Royal
Dinesh WEERAWANSA
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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