Scores:
Ananda College 137/9 (20) beat Richmond College 113 All Out (18.3) by 24 runs
Ananda College, Colombo emerged champions in the finals of the 4th edition of the Murali Harmony Cup held in Mullaitivu yesterday. The Anandians, unbeaten throughout the five day tournament, came into the finals as favourites to retain the title they won last year against the same opponents.
Anandian skipper Nisal Francisco won the toss and, as was the trend in the tournament, decided to bat first. His openers Rahal Avishka and Sahan Suraweera got them off to a steady start but they soon found themselves losing their first 3 wickets for just 32 runs. Dinuka Jayaratne tried to put the innings back together but was caught short of his crease by a throw from Avindu Theekshana just as things were beginning to look good. Wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals and valuable contributions by Kaveeshka Anjula, Lahiru Attanayake and Daminda Rashen saw Ananda finish at 137 for 9 in their 20 overs. Avindu Theekshana was the pick of the bowlers for Richmond once again, picking up 2 for 25 and one crucial runout.
The top 3 batters for Richmond: Dhananjaya Lakshan, Liyam Chamikara and Kamindu Mendis had shown their class throughout the tournament and no doubt the chase in the finals rested on their shoulders. However Dinuka Jayaratne produced an excellent spell of leg spin bowling to dismiss all three in-form batman and reduce Richmond to 85 for 5 in 14 overs. The top score of the match came from 15 year old Kalindu Siriwardene, but even his knock could not help Richmond as they slumped to 113 All Out. K. Anjula, A. Iranga and S. Waragoda picked up 2 wickets each for the Anandians.
Women’s Championship – Nittambuwa Ladies upset Combined Girls Schools (COMGS) to clinch title
Scores:
Nittambuwa Ladies 112/5 (19.1) beat COMGS -109/7 (20) by 5 wickets
Coming into the final both teams were unbeaten but the COMGS team had showed signs that they may dominate in both the batting and bowling disciplines.
Batting first after having won the toss, COMGS skipper and the tournament’s highest run getter Harshitha Madavi continued to show her class as she held the innings together despite losing 2 early wickets. At 71 at the fall of the 3rd wicket in the 12th over, the COMGS team looked ready to get to a very competitive score. However, losing 3 quick wickets thereafter meant that they could not gain any momentum in the latter part of the innings. They ended up posting a below par score of 109/7 in their 20 overs.
Chasing such a modest target, the COMGS girls knew that they would have to pick up early wickets. However they were thwarted by R Ranabahu and HDS Tharushi, who both made valuable contributions to Nittambuwa’a cause. Although the COMGS bowlers kept a lid on the scoring, their total was never going to be enough and the Nittambuwa Ladies cruised to the target with 5 wickets and 5 deliveries to spare.
