Taking traditional rivalries beyond borders and shores the 29th Battle of the Maroons in Canada was played on Saturday, 17th June at sun kissed Sunnybrook Park, Toronto amidst a large Ananda-Nalanda fraternity.
Having won the toss Nalanda elected to bat first and got off to a flying start thanks to the former captains of Nalanda 1st XI Ramesh de Silva and Sudarsha Perera who opened the batting. Nalanda made full use of the power play and was looking formidable at 51 for no loss when Sarkya decided to call curtains for a power play that would have been unblemished. Sudarsha was caught in Mid-wicket by Chamikara Nilaweera off bowling of Sarkya de Silva in the last bowl of the power play when the total was on 51.
As in a typical partnership the other opener Ramesh didn’t want to stay in the middle for too long without his partner and decided to take the long walk back to the pavilion as the 2nd wicket soon after. Dilshan Indrasinghe who came in at No.3 top scored for Nalanda with a half century and was ably supported by Jeewantha Edirisinghe and Chaminda Jayaweera who took Nalanda to a competitive score. Gas man Dinesh Uyangoda was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets for 48 in 8 overs. Aided with Achira Lakmal’s excellent wicket keeping who took 2 catches behind the stumps Malith, Sarkya, Thushara, Poorna and Roshan took a wicket each to restrict Nalanda to 210 for eight in their 40 overs.
Nalanda got off to a fine start again with the ball when they managed to remove opener Sarkya when the total was 10 and Ananda was struggling at 10 runs for 1 wicket after 5 overs. Chamikara and Thushara were looking to consolidate Ananda innings when Chamikara fell as the 2nd wicket when the total was 46. 3rd and 4th wickets fell cheaply in quick succession and Ananda was in a spot of bother at 84/4 at the end of 20 overs. Ananda’s main and probably the only hope was the 2013 1st XI captain Thushara Samarakone who was fighting a lone battle to take Ananda over the rope. In similar fashion in the 1st half Nalanda couldn’t capitalize on the start they took. Poorna Vithanage with a quick fire 20, which included a massive six over deep Mid-off, established a 61 run partnership for the 5th Wicket with Thushara. Poorna’s six set the tone for the rest of the innings and Ananda‘s slow jog towards a far-fetched victory converted into a sprint. Nalanda couldn’t do much other than being a spectator.
Malith Withanaarachchi then joined Thushara for the 6th wicket and scored another muscled 33 not out with two sixers and one boundary to post an unbeaten 66 run partnership for the 6th wicket. There was no less of excitement in the match when Nalanda paceman decided to bowl a wide at a juncture where Ananda needed 2 runs to win and Thushara needed 1 run for his century. Surely, Thushara must have seen a mirage at that point. However, the bowler was disciplined enough to deliver the ball not too wide and without overstepping and Thushara managed to score a single to mid-off not only to reach his century but also to make Ananda victorious.
Neither Ananda nor Thushara could have expected a better cinematically perfect end. Bowling for Nalanda, Prasad Gunasekara led the wickets column with 2 for 34, but the prowess of Nalanda bowling was just not good enough to contain Ananda. Eventually Ananda led by Prasad Hewagama cruised to victory with 5 wickets and 10 balls to spare recording the 2nd consecutive win. Thushara Samarakone who scored 100 not out with six fours and two sixers was adjudged the Man of the match.
A 10 over Masters’ Game was played for the first time and Ananda did not want to let his younger brother take home any glory. Nalanda batting first scored 40 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 10 overs. Ananda led by Rahula Munasinghe had a walk in the park to reach the target with seven wickets and two overs in hand to clinch the inaugural Masters’ Game.
Brief Scores
Main Game
Nalanda College 210 for 8 in 40 overs. Dilshan Indrasinghe 57, Jeewantha Edirisinghe 42,
Sudarsha Perera 23, Dinesh Uyangoda 3/48, Roshan Dankotuwage 1/24, Sarkya de Silva 1/29, Thushara Samarakone 1/30, Malith Withanaarachchi 1/34, Poorna Vithanage 1/34
Ananda College 211 for 5 in 38.2 overs. Thushara Samarakone 100*, Malith Withanaarachchi 33*, Poorna Vithanage 20, Chamikara Nilaweera 12, Prasad Gunasekara 2/34
Masters Game
Nalanda College 40 for 7 in 10 overs. Rajinda 7, Amila Perera 2 /4, Chamikara Nilaweera, 2/8, Poorna Vithanage 1/2, Niroshan de Silva 1/5
Ananda College 41 for 3 in 8 overs. Poorna Vithanage 12*, Niroshan de Silva 7*, Chamikara Nilaweera 7, Thivantha Uyangoda 7, Achira Lakmal 4
