Nalanda College, stepping in to the 86th Battle of Maroons as the underdogs will hope to turn the tables around against a set, strong batting line up of the arch-rivals Ananda College.
A bit of history
Nalanda College playing the game of gentlemen for many decade has produced one of the most elegant stroke makers of world cricket Mahela Jayawardhena. Also Nalanda College has the honor of producing the first test captain of the country Bandula Waranapura in the early days of its cricketing history. Being a huge contributor for the national franchise Nalanda has stood gallantly in the school cricket arena as unsung heroes.
Season thus far
It has been a fair bit of a performance this time around by the Nalanda lads not leaving anything deliberate to talk about. Out of the 16 matches played they have managed to secure only one outright win against Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala while having five first inning wins.
Key Players
17 year old third year coloursman; skipper Malinga Amerasinghe has done justice to himself and to the boys trailing behind. Getting himself into a bit of a form he has scored a total of 450 runs which includes four half centuries under his belt. Playing in as a middle order batsman in the batting card this young, the skipper has been doing his duty of strengthening the middle order when the top three fails.
Following the skipper, the batsman in form for Nalanda College is Dasun Seneviratene batting in as the fourth on the batting card he has scored 555 runs within this season. Yet to score a century this elegant right hander has four half centuries under his belt. Partnering up with the skipper in the middle he has been the person to help the outfit to cross the line over many times.
While the batsmen are set as such in the bowling department of the Nalanda College, second year player Kavindu Dinesh has been on top of the rest. Opening the bowling attack with his medium pace bowling he has captured 25 wickets so far in the season. Swinging the ball in both ways he has two five wicket hauls under his belt. He has been a good asset for the outfit as he has got the early breaks many times.
While Kavindu opens the bowling from one end his team-mate Malik Peris will do the honors from the other end and he is in line after Kavindu in performance in the bowling department. Capturing 29 wickets in the season he has been supporting the man bowler always tightening up the screws from one end. Having one five wicket haul under his sleeve he will continue his fine job ahead of the battle of the maroons.
Youngsters to watch out
Playing his debut year in the first eleven cricket team Ayanatha Perea has proved himself as a valuable asset in the years to unfold. He has captured 30 wickets so far in the season with one five wicket haul under his belt and functions as the 3rd seamer of the side.
Coaching Contingent
The man-in-charge of Nalanda College for this year`s is Imal Botheju. Being an old boy of the college he is expected to have an impact in guiding the side to a victorious position. Commencing his coaching career with the Mahanama College junior team, he has come a long way since then to become coach of Nalanda.
In their own words
Nalanda skipper Malinga Amerasinghe in reply for the question of his thoughts about the battle of the maroons said “We have been performing quite well in the season and bowling has been our strength. So we will hope to restrict them to a lower total turn the game around”.
Coach Imal Botheju sharing his views with ThePapare.com “We have fairly young side and I took over the side in the middle of the season but I believe if we play good cricket on the day we can overcome the strong Anandian batting line up”.
Full squad with disciplines
Malinga Amarasinghe-Left Hand Bat-Right Arm Medim Fast
Isuru Samarasinghe-Left Hand Bat-Right Arm Off Spin
Dasun Senevirathne-Right Hand Bat-Right Arm Off Spin
Kavindu Dinesh-Right Hand Bat-Left Arm Leg Spin
Malik Peris-Right Hand Bat-Right Arm Medium Fast
Hasitha Raveen -Right Hand Bat-Wicket-keeper
Dilan Suraweera-Right Hand Bat-Right Arm Off Spin
Nipun Kumara-Right Hand Bat-Right Arm Leg Spin
Ayantha Perera-Left Hand Bat-Right Arm Medium Fast
Kasun Sandaruwan-Right Hand Bat-Wicket Keeper
Laskshitha Rasanjana-Right Hand Bat-Right Arm Off Spin
Nimnaka Rathnayake-Right Hand Bat-Right Arm Medium Fast
Umeshkha Dilshan-Left Hand Bat-Left Arm Legs Spin
Thinura Malaka-Left Hand Bat-Right Arm Off Spin
Asel Kulathunga-Right Hand Bat-Right Arm Off Spin
Nalanda College 1st XI Cricket Coach – Imal Boteju (2015)
Nalanda College 1st XI Cricket Captain – Malinga Amarasinghe (2015)
