The proceedings of the third and final day of the 20th “Battle of the Golds”, the much-anticipated big match encounter between traditional rivals D.S. Senanayake College and Mahanama College, commenced at the legendary Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Grounds in Colombo 07. While the large crowd gathered at the venue hoped for a thrilling finale to the milestone encounter, the final day did not produce any such magic, with the game eventually ending in a tame draw. However, the individual brilliance of the Mahanama College skipper and national youth capped player, Dulnith Sigera, stole the limelight with a magnificent knock of 189 runs.
Resuming from their overnight score of 161 without loss in reply to D.S. Senanayake College’s massive first innings total of 344, Mahanama’s openers Dulnith Sigera (72*) and Sineth Weeraratne (83*) walked out to the middle with intent. The day began with a quick, well-timed single, setting the tone for the session. Sigera soon found his rhythm, launching into boundary hitting with a delicate glance shot to a delivery drifting down the leg side. However, the resistance was broken when Sineth Weeraratne, looking aggressive, came down the track against D.S. skipper Bandaranayake. Attempting a glorious hit, he failed to time the ball correctly, sending it high into the air where the mid-off fielder took a safe catch. Weeraratne departed for a well-made 91, inclusive of a six and seven fours, missing out on a century by a mere nine runs.
Undeterred by the wicket, Sigera took charge. He hit a glorious six right down the track over long off to bring up his well-compiled hundred, much to the delight of the Mahanama camp. The D.S. skipper, Bandaranayake, struck again soon after, dismissing newcomer Venura Kaveethra cheaply. At this juncture, two national youth capped players, Sigera and his deputy Chamika Heenatigala joined forces. Together, they put the pressure back on the Dons. While Chamika was watchful at one end, Sigera continued to assault the bowling attack, crossing the 150-run mark with another huge six over long-on that landed in the pavilion area. Their 82-run partnership was eventually broken when Heenatigala fell into a trap laid by Haamid Afdhal. Attempting a pull shot to a short delivery, he offered a leading edge that was safely caught by the wicket-keeper.
Following this, Sithum Vihanga arrived at the crease and played a supporting role, rotating the strike to keep the in-form Sigera on strike. Sigera capitalized on this, scoring freely and heavily. He lofted the ball over deep cover, long-on, long-off, and mid-wicket areas for huge sixes, completely controlling the ground.
Disaster struck for Sigera just as he approached a rare double century. Going for a miscalculated second run, he was run out by a superb fielding effort from Oshadha Perera, who returned the ball quickly to the wicket-keeper’s end. Sigera’s magnificent innings of 189 runs came to an end just 11 runs short of a double century. His knock was a spectacle of aggressive batting, crafted from just 209 balls and featuring nine massive sixes and ten boundaries.
Despite the loss of their captain’s wicket, Mahanama pressed on to pass D.S. Senanayake College’s first innings score. Buoyed by the clinical opening partnership of 192 runs between Sigera and Weeraratne, Mahanama eventually declared their innings at 387 during the evening, securing a first-innings lead of 43 runs, a lead that effectively axed the match-winning hopes of the Dons. For Dons, Oshadha Perera delivered a better spell, picking up three wickets, while skipper Bandaranayake and Haamid Afdhal chipped away with two wickets apiece.
Facing a deficit and with time running out, D.S. Senanayake College’s frontliners opted to resist rather than attack during the late cameo. The only wicket to fall during the late evening session was taken by Chamika Heenatigala. At the close of play, D.S. Senanayake College was 54 for the loss of one wicket, cementing another tame draw in the tournament’s history.
For his magnificent knock of 189 runs by assaulting each and every bowler in the Dons’ den, Mahanama skipper Dulnith Sigera won the player of the tournament award. Further, Miyuru Bandara won the best batsman award after scoring a stylish century on the opening day and setting the tone for a great game. For his brilliant six-wicket spell in the 1st innings and by getting the only wicket that fell in the 2nd innings, Chamika Heenatigala bagged the best bowlers award. Thaviru Perera, who was brilliant on the field by axing runs and took a sharp catch, won the outstanding fielders award.
Brief Scorecard
D.S Senanayake College, Colombo – 344 all out (119 Overs)
Miyuru Bandara 100, Randisha Bandaranayake 48, Chanul Athale 47, Shevan Welgama 27, Sithru Gunarathna 26, Janindu Ranasinghe 24, Shaanal Binuksha 23, Bihan Gamage 14, Haamid Afdhal 10 Chamika Heenatigala 100/6, Sithum Vihanga 27/1, Sanuka Ganepola 30/1, Dulnith Sigera 72/1, Venura Kaveethra 50/1,
Mahanama College, Colombo – 387/9 dec. (87.4 Overs)
Dulnith Sigera 189, Sineth Weeraratne 91, Chamika Heenatigala 30, Sanul Weerarathne 28, Gimantha Dissanayake 14, Sithum Vihanga 11 Oshadha Perera 63/3, Randisha Bandaranayake 45/2, Haamid Afdhal 79/2, Chithun Baddage 67/1
D.S Senanayake College, Colombo – 54/1 (18 Overs)
Shevan Welgama 25 n.o, Sithru Gunarathna 14 n.o, Miyuru Bandara 13 Chamika Heenatigala 24/1
Individual Awards
- Player of the Match – Dulnith Sigera (Mahanama College)
- Best Batter – Miyuru Bandara (D.S Senanayake College)
- Best Bowler – Chamika Heenatigala (Mahanama College)
- Best Fielder – Thaviru Perera (Mahanama College)
 Grounds in Colombo 07. While the large crowd gathered at the venue hoped for a thrilling finale to the milestone encounter, the final day did not produce any such magic, with the game eventually ending in a tame draw. However, the individual brilliance of the Mahanama College skipper and national youth capped player, Dulnith Sigera, stole the limelight with a magnificent knock of 189 runs. ){kind=link}