Kavija Gamage stroked twin hundreds and finished with a match bag of 8 wickets as Kingswood College ended over six decades of agony, winning the ‘Battle of the Maroons’ Hill Country after 68 long years.
Resuming their innings on 102/2, the overnight pair got into their work straightaway. Aadhel Sheriff brought up his half century, stroking 8 boundaries on his way to 71. However, it was Kavija Gamage that took the responsibility of putting his foot on the gas. He backed up his first innings century with an even quicker one on the second attempt. He reached the milestone off just 80 deliveries striking 6 boundaries and 5 towering maximums. Isuru Samarathunga was the only bowler amongst the wickets, finishing with figures of 3 for 82 as Kingswood took just 21 overs to add 146 runs before declaring at 248 for 4, giving themselves 2 and half sessions to bowl out their opponents while giving them a tall target of over 300 runs.
The 4th innings couldn’t have gotten off to a better start for Kingswood as Kenula Pihilianga struck off his first delivery. He struck again in the tenth over as Dharmaraja sank to 26 for 2.
There was then a slight resistance from Omesh Ekanayake and Tharindu Warnakulage, who saw off a testing phase. However, it was immediately followed by a dream 10 over burst from Kingswood, as they slipped from 63 for 2 to 81 for 6 by the 31st over. Kavija Gamage also got his name amongst the wickets.
Kavindu Gunarthna then began a stubborn resistance, trying to save the day for the Rajans. Together with the lower order, he made Kingswood work extremely hard for the last four wickets. They batted more than 40 overs. However Gamage and Pihilianga continued to chip away to take the game towards a thrilling finish. In poetic fashion, Kavija Gamage picked up Gunarathna with the finishing line in sight to break a 68 year curse for Kingswood College.
Kingswood College, who play one division below the Rajans in the Schools Two Day Tournament proved that form and history don’t matter in a rivalry that runs this deep. Kavija Gamage brought on all his national experience to put on a performance for the ages. Twin hundreds and a match bag of 8 wickets was undoubtedly the headline, but take nothing away from the brilliant bowling of Pihilianga. They’ve written themselves into the history books at Randles Hill, and have set the big match season alight with a game for the ages.
Brief Scores
Kingswood College 226 (74.4) and 248/4d (55.3) beat Dharmaraja College 160(66.2) and 166(72.4) by 148 runs
