As we look into the current 2013/14 under 19 division 1 cricket season, only few teams are unbeaten so far and Mahanama College, Colombo are one of those teams to keep their unbeaten tag all along the season and they will look to perform to their utmost best.
History
Mahanama College was founded by W.A.K Gunawardene in 1954 at the heart of Colombo with less than 10 students. The game of Cricket was introduced to Mahanama College in 1980’s and since then they have been gradually coming up the ranks as a team to be reckoned with in the most popular sport in Sri Lanka.
No player from Mahanama College have gone on to represent Sri Lanka but they produced high quality first class players such as Praneeth Peiris and Vipula Sithamage who made headlines in yesteryear of Sri Lankan Domestic Cricket leagues.
Mahanama College advanced to play in the under 19 division 1 league from the 2007/08 season and since then have been competitive in every aspect of the game. Players like Dhanushka Gunathilake and Chathura Randunu who are both in the present Sri Lanka ‘A’ squad are proud products of Mahanama College.
Young batting talents such as Duleeka Thissakuttige and Pawan Devinda made their bats talk from the rough grounds of Mahanama. Duleeka and Pawan have represented Sri Lanka in the Under 19 level and both of them were awarded as the ‘Best Batsman’ during the last 2 years consecutively by Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association.
Re-Cap of 2012/13 season
Last season, Mahanamians were led by Pawan Devinda who had a season to remember all his life when he scored nearly 1300 runs and topped the most runs batting charts. Pawan’s superb performances got him a spot in the Under 19’s tour of Bangladesh in 2013. Left handed batsman Naveen Silva was the Vice Captain of the side. Last season was an average season in terms of winning for Mahanama College, as they won only a solitary outright win. Dulanjan Seneviratne had a splendid season taking close to 50 scalps. Mahanama managed to beat the high riding D.S Senanayake College in their annual 50 over encounter played for the 7th time last year.
Current 2013/14 Season
This Season, Mahanama College will be led by fast bowling all rounder Nayana Prabhath. Under the leadership of Nayana Prabhath, Mahanama have played 13 matches so far and have won 3 matches outright. They got the better of Bandaranayake College, Gampaha by 8 wickets while they had an easy 10 wicket win against St. Anthony’s College, Katugasthota and registered an innings and 13 runs win over President’s College Kotte. All the other 10 matches ended as drawn games and they have managed to win 3 games on 1st innings. With 4 more games left to be played, Mahanama College will be hoping to keep their unbeaten record intact going into the Limited Overs Tournament.
Key Players
Mahanama College does not possess any national players currently but they have few potential match winners who could be the difference in turning a match in their favor. 6 foot tall lanky fast bowler/skipper Nayana Prabhath is a genuine fast bowler with raw pace and he can destroy any batting line up with his speed and swing. Nayana Prabhath has accounted for more than 30 wickets so far this and Nayana Prabhath is no mug with the bat as well where he has scored close to 200 runs. Nayana Prabhath’s deputy for the season will be left hand middle order batsman Senura Welagedara who has played a pivotal role in securing Mahanama’s unbeaten run.
Main key player for Mahanama College is their star all rounder Gihan Sajeewa. The right handed batsman has scored over 500 runs so far and has taken close to 45 wickets with his off spinners. Opening batsman Sahan Peiris is the only centurion for Mahanama College as he scored a brilliant century against Moratu Vidyalaya. Subuddhi Kaushalya is another key component in Mahanama strategies as he has been a very consistent performer for his alma mater scoring over 500 runs maintaining a very good average and has scored 5 half centuries up to date. Kalindu Lakshan is a dependable left hand batsman with a cool head over his shoulder to tackle pressure situations and have accumulated over 400 runs this season.
Mahanama College spin department will be headed by off spinner Dulanjan Senevirathne and left arm leg spinner Dinuka Karunanda. Both spinners bowl in tandem to restrict opponents for low totals and both these spinners have taken more than 75 wickets between them and they remain large in Nayana Prabhath’s plans to win the ‘Battle of the Golds’ big match in March against D.S Senanayake College.
Speaking to ThePapare.com Mahanama College master in charge of Cricket Mr. Leslie Harischandra expressed his views on Mahanama College Cricket infrastructure : “ This is by far the best season for Mahanama College since joining the Division 1 league in 2007. Our present principal Colonel Prasanna Upashantha is a sports fan and he has been a great help to Mahanama College and I would like to thank our Past Cricketers Association led by Thusitha Silva. They fund us financially in difficult times. “
Mahanama College skipper Nayana Prabhath knows one way to go this season and he made his intentions clear : “ We want to win the Big match and the Limited Overs match. That will be our main target. We would like to win 5 or more outright wins as well. I’m proud of our achievements so far this season “
Full Squad
1. Nayana Prabhath – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Fast
2. Senura Welagedara – Left Hand Batsman – Right Arm Off Spin
3. Subuddhi Kaushalya – Left Hand Batsman – Right Arm Fast
4. Gihan Sajeewa – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Off Spin
5. Kalindu Lakshan – Left Hand Batsman – Right Arm Off Spin
6. Thanula Wickramasinghe – Left Hand Batsman – Right Arm Off Spin
7. Sahan Peiris – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Medium Fast
8. Dulanjana Seneviratne – Left Hand Batsman – Right Arm Off Spin
9. Dinuka Karunanda – Right Hand Batsman – Left Arm Orthodox
10. Ishara Rashmika – Right Hand Batsman – Wicket Keeper
11. Kalana Ashan – Right Hand Batsman – Left Arm Orthodox
12. Kavindu Munasinghe – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Leg Spin
13. Umesh Sachin – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Medium Fast
14. Kanishka Gimhan – Right Hand Batsman – Left Arm Orthodox
15. Ishara Umesh – Right Hand Batsman – Right Arm Off Spin
Leslie Harischandra – Master In Charge
Manjuka Perera – Head Coach
Kelum Gangodawila – Assistant Coach
Remaining Fixtures
February 6/7 vs St. Servatius College at FTZ Ground, Katunayake
February 10/11 vs Maris Stella College at FTZ Ground, Katunayake
February 17/18 vs Thurstan College at FTZ Ground, Katunayake
March 21/22 vs D.S Senanayake College (Big Match) at P. Sara Oval
March 30 vs D.S Senanayake College (50 overs Big Match) at SSC Grounds
