One of the oldest school cricket battles in Sri Lanka, the historic Ananda-Nalanda clash for the Dr. N.M. Perera Memorial Challenge Trophy commenced today for the 90th occasion, at the Sinhalese Sports Club grounds, with highly celebrated old boys from each school, Sri Lankan Cricket stalwarts Arjuna Ranatunga & Bandula Warnapura as chief guests.
Nalandians who have chosen a strong line-up for the starting XI with the likes of skipper Lakshitha Manasinghe, opener Avishka Perera and fast bowling all-rounder Chamindu Wijesinghe, won the toss and elected to bat first in what seemed like a belter of a wicket for the batsmen.
Nalanda College Starting XI – Avishka Perera, Dilhara Polgampola, Ranindu de Silva, Lakshitha Manasinghe, Chamindu Wijesinghe, Raveen de Silva, Moksha Sankalpa, Mahima Weerakoon, Jithesh Wasala, Kaveesh Madurapperuma, Dineth Samaraweera
A prolific run getter in the ongoing Under 19 ‘Division 1’ Cricket Tournament, Kamesh Nirmal has been privileged to lead Ananda College which experienced a see-saw 2018/19 season.
Ananda College Starting XI – Kamesh Nirmal (C), Kanishka Ranthilakage, Moditha Ranathunga, Kalana Wijesiri, Chamika Gunasekara, Dasun Tharaka, Adeesha Perera, Daminda Reshan, Sudeepa Agulugaha, Saviru Bandara, Janindu Jayawardene
Dashing right hander Avishka Perera who have scored 2 centuries this year, accompanied by wicket keeper batsman Dilhara Polgampola, opened the innings for Nalanda, who has been searching for their 5th Big Match win since 1953 vs Ananda College who tasted their 14th and last battle of the Maroons win in 2003.
Photo Album : Ananda College vs Nalanda College | 90th Battle of the Maroons – Day 1
Pitch had very little to offer for the seamers in the first hour but opening pacer Dasun Tharaka managed to find Avishka Perera’s edge of the bat when he was on naught only to be put down by Sudeepa Agulugaha at slip cordon. Then, Perera scored runs in a blistering pace with boundaries all over the ground while Polgampola played a cautious innings as the second pedal.
Lack of concentration by Polgampola cost him his wicket just before the lunch break as he tried to sweep one across but hit his pads plump in front of the wicket when he was on 22. With a run-a-ball fifty to his name Perera led Nalanda to lunch (93-1).
Afternoon session was all about Avishka Perera as he cruised to his century at a rapid pace putting Nalanda on a commanding position. He reached his century from 110 balls and was stumped for 120 off Saviru Bandara’s bowling as he tried one too many.
Live – Ananda College vs Nalanda College – 90th Battle of the Maroons
The 90th Battle of the Maroons annual cricket encounter…
After the departure of the century-maker, Nalanda middle order chipped in handsomely to get them to 269 for the loss of 7 wickets before they called quits for their first innings.
Ananda College’s horrendous day didn’t end there as their wicket column was ticked 4 times for 52 runs before the stumps were called by the umpires as 15-year old left arm pacer Dineth Samaraweera launched a probing spell just before stumps to make the Ananda batters jump around and all over the crease. He bagged 3 wickets to sleep well tonight and will come all guns blazing with their potent bowling attack, dreaming of a Nalanda win after 66 years.
Stay logged on to ThePapare.com for exclusive LIVE coverage, photos & latest updates from the 90th Battle of the Maroons 2019. Live action of day 2 can also be viewed on Channel Number 01 on Dialog TV.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avishka Perera | b Saviru Bandara | 120 | 134 | 17 | 0 | 89.55 |
| Thanushka Dilhara Polgampola | lbw b Saviru Bandara | 22 | 61 | 2 | 0 | 36.07 |
| Ranindu C de Silva | c Kalana Sulakkana Wijesiri b Sudeepa Agulugaha | 16 | 57 | 2 | 0 | 28.07 |
| Lakshitha Rasanjana Manasinghe | b Chamika Deemantha Gunasekara | 16 | 37 | 2 | 0 | 43.24 |
| Chamindu Wijesinghe | c Adeesha Perera b Chamika Deemantha Gunasekara | 27 | 61 | 3 | 0 | 44.26 |
| Raveen De Silva | c Sudeepa Agulugaha b Janindu Jayaweera | 36 | 67 | 3 | 1 | 53.73 |
| Mahima Weerakoon | c Kamesh Nirmal b Dasun Tharaka | 15 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 115.38 |
| Moksha Sankalpa | not out | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | 11 (b 0 , lb 9 , nb 1, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 269/7 (72.1 Overs, RR: 3.73) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adeesha Perera | 8 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 3.00 | |
| Dasun Tharaka | 9 | 2 | 31 | 1 | 3.44 | |
| Chamika Deemantha Gunasekara | 16 | 3 | 46 | 2 | 2.88 | |
| Saviru Bandara | 19 | 3 | 66 | 2 | 3.47 | |
| J Jayawardene | 14.1 | 1 | 74 | 1 | 5.25 | |
| Sudeepa Agulugaha | 6 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 3.17 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sudeepa Agulugaha | c Thanushka Dilhara Polgampola b Chamindu Wijesinghe | 14 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 60.87 |
| Dasun Tharaka | b Dineth Samaraweera | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kamesh Nirmal | b Dineth Samaraweera | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 71.43 |
| Kanishka Rantilakage | c Raveen De Silva b Dineth Samaraweera | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 133.33 |
| Moditha Ranathunga | lbw b Dineth Samaraweera | 64 | 108 | 8 | 0 | 59.26 |
| Daminda Reshan | c Lakshitha Rasanjana Manasinghe b Chamindu Wijesinghe | 17 | 32 | 3 | 0 | 53.12 |
| Kalana Sulakkana Wijesiri | c Lakshitha Rasanjana Manasinghe b Chamindu Wijesinghe | 39 | 42 | 6 | 0 | 92.86 |
| J Jayawardene | not out | 63 | 103 | 8 | 0 | 61.17 |
| Adeesha Perera | c Thanushka Dilhara Polgampola b Chamindu Wijesinghe | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 30.00 |
| Chamika Deemantha Gunasekara | b Raveen De Silva | 10 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Saviru Bandara | b Raveen De Silva | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 9 (b 0 , lb 4 , nb 4, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 232/10 (60.2 Overs, RR: 3.85) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamindu Wijesinghe | 15 | 2 | 58 | 3 | 3.87 | |
| Dineth Samaraweera | 18 | 1 | 63 | 4 | 3.50 | |
| Lakshitha Rasanjana Manasinghe | 8 | 1 | 31 | 1 | 3.88 | |
| Kaveesh Madurapperuma | 6 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 5.33 | |
| Mahima Weerakoon | 8 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 2.12 | |
| Jithesh Wasala | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 5.50 | |
| Raveen De Silva | 3.2 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 5.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thanushka Dilhara Polgampola | c Kamesh Nirmal b Adeesha Perera | 16 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Avishka Perera | run out () | 20 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 95.24 |
| Lakshitha Rasanjana Manasinghe | b Gishan Vishwajith Edirisinghe | 87 | 103 | 9 | 1 | 84.47 |
| Chamindu Wijesinghe | run out () | 64 | 63 | 10 | 0 | 101.59 |
| Moksha Sankalpa | run out () | 20 | 33 | 3 | 0 | 60.61 |
| Raveen De Silva | not out | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 9 (b 3 , lb 6 , nb 0, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 216/5 (41.2 Overs, RR: 5.23) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamika Deemantha Gunasekara | 9.2 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 2.50 | |
| Dasun Tharaka | 4 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 6.75 | |
| Saviru Bandara | 14 | 0 | 64 | 0 | 4.57 | |
| Adeesha Perera | 6 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 3.17 | |
| J Jayawardene | 5 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 3.40 | |
| Sudeepa Agulugaha | 3 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 10.00 | |
