Rain was falling heavily after the first session of play on the second day forcing the umpires to call off the 9th annual battle of the golds
On the first day which was also disrupted by rain, DS Senanayake captain Harith Maduwantha won the toss and elected to bat first. Even though they lost their first wicket in the second over, they put up a few valuable partnerships afterwards. Before rain started to fall they were 157 for the loss of 4 wickets in 46 overs with their skipper unbeaten on 41 and Shifran Muthalif not out on 8 runs. Mahanama opening bowler Niduka Welikala bagged two of those four wicket which fell on the first day. Rain started to fall at around 2 pm in the afternoon, play was stopped and it didn’t resume due to continuous rainfall.
Play resumed on the second day but not at the scheduled time due to the wet outfield. DS Senanayake College lost their first wicket when Shifran Muthalif was caught behind to the bowling of D. Tenishan. They lost two wickets in quick succession in the morning session. Their captain Harith Maduwantha held one end showing his determination and skill. Skipper Harith found a good partner in Torin Pitigala who came in at number 8. This pair put together a solid 75 run partnership helping DS Senanayake College into a demanding position. Pitigala was dismissed for a good cameo of 39 runs. Captain Harith Maduwantha played a classy knock of 97 runs, he thoroughly deserved the three figures but fell short of it from just three runs. After losing his wicket skipper Harith decided to put their rivals to bat. Akeel Inham, their star performer this season missed out on a half century when he was dismissed for 42 runs on the first day. Uvindu Bandara also chipped in with 34 runs helping DS Senanayake College to put up 275 for 8 in 70 overs before they declared their innings. With the ball for Mahanama College Dulanjana Seneviratne bagged 3 for 68 and Niduka Welikala took. 2 wickets for 51 runs.
Mahanama College came on to bat after that good performance from the bat by their rivals. They couldn’t make much out of this years big match due to the heavy rain which poured down in the afternoon. DS Senanayake only could manage to bowl 9 over before players had run off the field. Mahanama College managed to score 37 runs losing only one wicket of M Maduranga for just 6 runs. Torin Pitigala chipping in with that wicket adding to his performance with the bat.
Play was called off after few hours due to continuous rainfall leading the 9th annual battle of the golds into a draw. Annual Limited over match between DS Senanayake College and Mahanama College will be played next Saturday the 21st of March at the Sinhalese Sports Club.
