D.S. Senanayake College, Colombo and Mahanama College Colombo will engage in their annual clash on the 29th and 30th of March at the P. Sara Oval stadium.
The DS-Mahanama battle is one of the youngest encounters of March Madness. With a history of just over a decade, the battle has produced a result only once, when D.S. Senanayake College won under their latest national product, Binura Fernando. 11 encounters have ended in draws.
D.S. Senanayake College
In the 15 games played this season, the Colombo 07 school has recorded 5 outright wins, against St. Anne’s College, Maliyadeva College, Lumbini College, St. Aloysius’ College and Bandaranayake College. They also impressed with 5 first-innings wins with one game ending up without a result. They lost first-innings points in 3 games while their only outright loss came against Dharmaraja College, Kandy.
D.S. Senanayake College finished 4th in their group and missed out on the second round qualification. They were also knocked out of the one-day tournament after losing against Ananda College by just 9 runs.
The D.S. Senanayake outfit is led by Pasindu Adithya who is bound to strengthen the batting of the team. Adithya has scored 542 runs this season with a century to his merit.
The team’s core expectations will be on their youth national player, Muditha Lakshan. With a run-tally of over 1300 runs this season, including 5 centuries, Lakshan is an absolute run-machine and has been in remarkable form this season. Not just with the bat, Lakshan hits money with the ball too. The left-arm spinner has captured over 50 wickets this season. Undoubtedly, this youngster will be the key for D.S. Senanayake College in the big game.
Photo Album : D.S. Senanayake College U19 Cricket Team Preview 2018/19
Next in the line with the bat are the two top-order occupants, Amitha Dabare and Aishek Liyanarachchi. The duo has scored 642 runs and 542 runs respectively. Their hand with the bat will also be very crucial for D.S to finish the game on top.
The left-arm spinner, Methushan Kumara has been among the top bowlers of the Singer U19 division one tournament this year with 80 scalps under his belt. He will be the most lethal weapon in the field for Adithya. While Lakshan will operate in tandem with Kumara, off spinner Chamath Yatawara will also come in handy with the ball. Yatawara has also picked up close to 50 wickets this season.
Mahanama College
The boys from Colpetty have also had a decent season, finishing 4th in their group. They secured outright wins against St. Aloysius’ College and Prince of Wales College while gaining major honours in 5 other games. They also lost first-innings points against St. Servatius’ College and suffered defeats against S. Thomas’ College and Zahira College in the Singer U19 division one tournament.
A promising all-rounder, Pathum Boteju is leading Mahanama College this season. Boteju is more of a utility player for the team and never fails to deliver when required as a consistent left-hand bat and an immensely accurate left-arm seamer. He doesn’t have extravagant pace, but is unbelievably consistent with his line and length. His capable of moving the ball either way and his brilliance in setting up a batsman is a delight to watch.
The batting will depend a lot on their in-form batsman Pawantha Weerasinghe. A top-quality left-hander with shots all around the park. Weerasinghe backs himself with over 900 runs this season including 3 centuries. His elegant 196 against Dharmaraja College this season remains his best knock.
The youth national players Pavan Rathnayake and Sonal Gamage will be pillars of support for the team. Pavan has scored close to 600 runs this season and takes care of the glove-work for Mahanama.
Photo Album : Mahanama College U19 Cricket Team Preview 2018/19
Gamage holds the team together with his all-round excellence while shining in silence. His knocks are all unsung but crucial. Even though the youth national star missed some games of the season due to his national commitments, he has bagged 41 scalps with his left-arm orthodox spin. Gamage not only brings in stability, his experiences in the first-class and international levels will be a huge strength to the team.
Skipper, Boteju and Lahiru Kavinda are the other big names in the bowling department. The skipper has picked up 26 wickets while Kavinda has 23 wickets to his name.
Final Say
This will definitely be an exciting battle to watch. Both teams are evenly poised and have had near-identical results this season. On a regular P. Sara deck, heroes will emerge from the most unexpected. Both teams have batting as their strong suit and it will be interesting to see how they negotiate the conditions at the Oval. Methushan Kumara and Sonal Gamage might enjoy the assistance from the surface to put their respective opponents under the scanner. Mahanama Skipper, Boteju will also chip in with some neat and tidy stuff with the ball.
Amitha Dabare and Pawantha Weerasinghe should find the conditions suitable for their copybook straight-batted strokes too.
As always, all the numbers they take into P. Sara on the match day will jump to zero past the ropes. The team that adapts to the situations early will gain advantage. Certainly, there will be a healthy fight and wonderful game of cricket to witness for the fans.
