SSC and NCC clash in final

SLC Under 23 Review:

CHRIS DHAMBARAGE

The traditional rivals SSC and NCC have cleared their final hurdle in their attempt to win the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) organised under 23 division one tournament.

Last week they won their respective semifinal matches with the defending champions SSC defeating Sri Lanka Schools Under 20 outright by eight wickets while NCC had the better of Colts CC on the first inings in a completely one sided encounter.

Even then the success of SSC was quite a significant one because they were up against the giant killers who had earlier toppled some of the more fancied teams on their way into the last four.

In fact never had been the strong SSC team so much under pressure in the entire tournament as they battled hard until the last day to register an eight wicket victory.

The manner in which SSC came back to pull off an outright victory was really outstanding especially after they had been dismissed for 146 runs in the first innings. Their place in the final was not assured although they were able to take a close first innings lead having earlier bundle out the schoolboys for a paltry 115 runs.

In fact SSC’s real challenge started thereafter when they were set a competitive victory target of 213 runs. They they achieved their goal and accomplished their mission quite convincingly is a clear indication of their determination to win this title for the second successive year.

They were up against some very good spinners in the calibre of Sachith Pathirana, Sanjaya Fernando and Udara Peiris who had mesmerized many good batsmen in their earlier outings. But this time the SSC top order clicked well at the correct time with skipper Hans Fernando leading from the front.

They accepted the challenge without any fear and went about their task in their own style that earned them a good morale boosting victory at the end. Skipper Hans Fernando chose this big occasion to underline his capabilities with a splendid unbeaten one hundred that turned the game in their favour.

Fernando also brought a series of low scores with an unbeaten 116 with the back support coming from opener Navin Perera.

The pair in fact completely sealed the game in SSC’s favour by putting on a massive 188 runs for the second wicket. Both really made amends for their first innings failure as they reached their target with more than two sessions to spare.

SSC of course took the initiative by dismissing the schoolboys for just 115 runs in their first innings. The bowling honours went to the experienced combination of Shalika Karunanayake and Milan Fernando who ran through the innings with some penetrative bowling.

This was no doubt a major setback for the Schools under 20 team who had many top run getters in their ranks. But this time they just could not get their act together well and struggled for survival throughout the semifinal. They of course did well to restrict the SSC batting for 146 runs to keep their hopes alive to a certain extent.

But all their chances were blown away by the SSC captain Hans Fernando who rose to the occasion with a magnificent batting performance which was easily his best effort in the current tournament.

Meanwhile NCC warmed up for this week’s important final with an easy first innings victory over Colts CC in their semifinal match worked off at the SSC grounds in Maitland Place .

NCC too went through some anxious moments as they recovered from an early setback to post a formidable first innings total. They were almost down and out as they slumped to a hopeless 39 for 5 after being put into bat by the opposition.

But the NCC middle order provided some splendid rearguard action with Kosala Kulasekera and Eranga Gangoda leading the way. Both went on to make centuries as NCC recovered magnificently to reach an impressive 376 runs in their first innings at the end.

Colts CC of course had the game well under control at one stage but they simply let the opposition get away with the situation through some inaccurate bowling. Kulasekera and Gangoda batted with a great maount of authority as they completely turned the game in their favour with a massive sixth wicket stand of 249 runs.

The pair later followed up with an inspired spell of bowling as Colts CC were dismissed for 234 runs in reply. In fact Gangoda completed a memorable outing by claiming four wickets while Kulasekera and Laksiri picked up two wickets each.