The battle field has been set and the combatants are readying themselves for carnage in the hill capital of the country.
The month of March which is famed for its madness in the cricketing arena will once again liven up the spirits of Kandy as the traditional battle of the elite of the territory, Trinity College Kandy and St. Anthonys College Katugastota unfolds. Held for the 98th successive occurrence for the John Halangoda memorial trophy, it would be question as to who would make their way to the books of history.
Brief History
Trinity and St. Anthony’s took over the sport of cricket in the early 20th century and were in the fore front in the sport at that time. Encounters between the two schools dates back to the year 1912 where the first ever encounter was played at the Bogambora Grounds. The Antonians bagged the first match with a comfortable win but their counterparts bounced back with a comprehensive victory the following year. The idea and concept for a trophy however came in the year 1916 where the first encounter for the trophy was held.
Through time the fixture has undergone massive changes and produced great cricketing talent for the country. The most famous sons to come out of the two schools being Muttiah Muralidaren (St. Anthony’s), and Kumar Sangakkara (Trinity). Nearing its triple figure mark, the encounter was last won by Trinity College two years back under the leadership of Niroshan Dickwella. The win in 2012 which was an innings victory broke the 25 year old drought. The last instance where the Saints ended as a winning outfit was in 1992 under Umesh De Alwis. Trinity College leads the overall tally with 23 wins to 13 in favor of St. Anthony’s.
Recap of last year
Trinity won the toss at the Katugastota oval and made the Antonians bat as they fell cheaply for 107 runs under some pressurized bowling from Lakshan Jayasinghe and Amrith Sri Mahan. Trinity in their turn surpassed the 1st innings barrier as they declared their stand at 137/6. Bhagya Palihawadena was the player who stole the limelight with a stand of 79. With hopes of another outright victory, the Trinity bowlers held nerve in the start of the 2nd innings but to their dismay, play was called off with 30-40 overs remaining in the second day when St. Anthony’s were 48 runs for four wickets. Trinity retained the Halangoda trophy.
Run Up
On the books the encounter reads as another David Goliath battle with the hosts of this year Trinity establishing themselves solidly over their counterparts with six outright wins to none. The Lions have enlisted five 1st innings honors under their belt while the St Anothys have conquered three. With Trinity in the 2nd place of the league and St. Anthony’s sitting below, the Lions have given way to an early forecast of this year’s result.
But nevertheless hope still lies on the Eagle’s wings. Trinity’s last two outings have not been as impressive as their 2013/14 season with them losing stake in both outings against S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia and Royal College Colombo. This factor will no doubt count in favor of the Antonians.
Head to Head
Ron Chandragupta v Nimesha Gunasinghe
The two skippers, both being middle order batsman will hold key in building up a solid score. The Trinity skipper who found his form midway of the cricketing season has built on his reputation in being a match saver for the team. With a century knock against Nalanda and with four scores above 80 amassing a season total of 850 runs he will blooming with confidence as he takes ground in his final big match. His opponent Nimesha Gunasinghe has performed in his capabilities with his best being 66 against Wesley. Though his contributions have not come regularly, he himself has amassed a 600 runs and expectations on the Eagle’s captain will be set high.
Batting Department
An aggressive opening duo for Trinity Kaveen Hindum and Nushan Weerasinghe will provide the initial boost for the team. Both having centuries under their names, have surpassed the 600 run boundary this year. Third year player Arjuna Jayasinghe will power up the middle order while part time batsman Charith Sudaraka has made some runs batting at the death.
Hard hitting Pulasti Bandara and Kanishka Ukgalpaya will require to build up a solid opening stand partnership for St. Anthony’s if they are to get 200+ scores. Pulasti Bandara known for his lofted strokes has three fifties this season while Kanishka Ukgalpaya has been the stand out batsman for the Antonians. With a century against Nalanda and a couple of half centuries, he will be entrusted to hold the batting lineup in steady pace.
The bowling department of both teams have performed impressively well and both teams compile of a formidable bowling attack.
The Sayer-Lakshan Combination
For Trinity the small mystery man, Raveen Sayer has stolen most of the attention this season with his performance with the ball. Sayer who has transformed himself into a spinning sensation picked up his 100th wicket against Royal last week. With three 10- wicket hauls, seven 5-wicket hauls, become the most feared bowler in the cricket league.
Alongside him will be the much experienced national cap Lakshan Jayasinghe. Not being able to play a single match in the cricket league due to the U19 cricket World cup, Lakshan is back in the team in time for the big match. Lakshan who wrecked the Antonians in their famous 2012 win would be all out to make his last spell a memorable one. With Jayasinge and Sayer, any captain would not have to ask for more.
The efforts of spinner Charith Sudaraka and last year’s match winner paceman Amrith SriMahan will also come in handy with the skipper having many and more options to exploit.
Uditha Mahindaratna to lead the Antonian Bowling
The experienced bower Uditha Mahindaratna will take charge to lead the Antonian bowling. Having picked up 35 wickets this season, he takes honors of being the leading wicket taker this season. Another stalwart in the bowling lineup who has shown potential is Kavindu Yapa.
St. Anthony’s too resort to a spinning attack with contributions coming in from captain Nimesha Gunasinghe as well. With two 5-wicket hauls from his off spin, he too will add to team effort. The other choices which skipper Nimesha has would be pacer Dilan Kavinda and Nimesha Warnasinghe; both freshers.
TRIVIA
It has been four years since a bastsman scored a century in a Big Match, the last was in 2009 by Shameera Wijesooria while the highest tally by a batsman has been by ACM Lafir of St. Anthony’s which was 176 in the year 1954.
There has been a double hatrick(wickets off all 6 balls of an over) in the year 1939 by Trinity bowler C Dharmlingam
Brig. John Halangoda was a Lionsmen in Cricket and Rugby in Trinity and thereby the trophy is dedicated in his name in recognition for his achievements in cricket.
Brothers Nuwan Kalpage and Ruwan Kalpage both captained St. Anthony’s College and presently are coaches at National Level. Ruwan Kalpage went on to represent Sri Lanka
Niroshan Dickwella’s famous 2012 win which was an innings win was the second such instance where a game had been won with an innings. The last of such was in 1953.
Conclusion
The 98th Kandy Battle of the Blues will come alive on the 14th and 15th of March at the Asgiriya Stadium. Over the years, Trinity College has been dominating the two dayer and they would be eyeing similar fortune this time, however St Anthonys is perfectly capable of causing an upset as well. This encounter which has never gone according to records and statistics is expected to turn out the unexpected yet again.
Speaking to ThePapare, both captain’s stressed on that they would be enacting their own gameplay without any differences and both of their intentions were to enter the record books as match winning captains.
Squads
Trinity:
Ron Chandragupta (Capt), Amrit Sri Mahan, Lakshan Jayasinghe, Raveen Sayer, Arjuna Jayasinghe, Nushan Weerasinghe, Charith Sudaraka, Kaveen Hiniduma, Madhawa Munaweera, Chatura Jayasundara, Naveen Ekanayake, Pramodya Abeykoon, Sangeeth Shanmuganathan, Pubudu Samarasinghe, Sadindu Amarasinghe, Lahiru Kumara, Dumindu Tillekeratne.
Officials: Sampath Perera (Coach), A.B. Jayasinghe (MIC), Lakshman Somasinghe (POG).
St. Anthony’s:
Nimesha Gunasinghe (Capt), Buvaneka Wijetunga, Damitra Panaditharatne, Dilan Bandara, Pulasthi Bandara, Kavinda Udapola, Kanishka Ukgalpaya, Uditha Mahindaratne, Mohamed Alfer, Janindu Hinsara, Vinod Dhananjaya, Kavindu Yapa Bandara, Dilanka Wijeratne, Dilan Jayalath, Pabod Bandara.
Officials: Tharaka Gunaratne (Coach), G. Wickremanayake (MIC), Fr. Araliya Jayasundera (POG).
