North Western Province deservingly won the SLC Super 19 Provincial Tournament 2016 beating Southern Province on first-inning in the three-day final which concluded on Friday at R. Premadasa International Stadium.
In an evenly contested final, St. Anne’s College, Kurunegala opening batsman Pubudu Ganegama’s well-executed century took the spotlight as the strong Southern Province had to pay for their first innings batting misery.
On the opening day, St. Aloysius’ College duo Ashen Bandara and Navindu Nirmal made excellent half-tons as Southern Province posted 247 after being sent into bat first. Off-spinner Ganegama was the pick of the bowlers taking 3 for 45. In reply, North Western posted a mammoth 342 on day two thanks to Ganegama’ smatch-winning century and a few more contributions by skipper Damitha Silva and Wanitha Wanninayake.
On the final day, Southern Province resumed play from 1 for no loss. They lost opener Dhananjaya Lakshan and one-drop batsman Kaveesh Dilranga during the first couple of overs but Bandara and Nirmal came to the rescue once again as they made 67 and 48 respectively.
Photo Album – SLC Super 19 Provincial Tournament – Final Day 3
Hareen Buddhila made a useful 38 as they posted 214 for 9 declared setting a target of 120 for Damitha Silva and his boys. Sri Lanka U19 representative and Maliyadeva College left-arm spinner Damitha Silva and fast-bowler Randeera Ranasinghe took 4 wickets apiece.
Chasing 120 runs to win, North Western lost 4 quick wickets for 25 before Silva and Nipun Dhananjaya held on for almost 10 overs before the umpires raised stumps. Left-arm spinner Dilum Sudeera picked up all the 4 wickets in the fourth and final innings to end with a 7-wicket match bag.
After the game, jubilant skipper of North Western Damitha Silva shared his views exclusively to ThePapare.com, “We won because of our team work and all the guys chipped in for this victory. I’m happy with both my team and my personal performances.”
Southern Province – 247 all out in 80.4 overs: Ashen Bandara 74, Navindu Nirmal 56, Nipun Ranshitha 26, Thilan Prasan 22, Kaveesh Dilranga 20, Pubudu Ganegama 3/45, Wanitha Wanninayake 2/27, Damitha Silva 2/83.
North Western Province – 342 all out in 111 overs: Pubudu Ganegama 106, Wanitha Wanninayake 45, Nipun Dhananjaya 38, Damitha Silva 64, Heshan Fernando 22, Dilum Sudeera 3/88, Hareen Buddhila 2/79, Kavindu Ediriweera 2/54.
Southern Province (2nd inn) – 214/9 declared in 74 overs: Ashen Bandara 67, Navindu Nirmal 48, Hareen Buddhila 38, Damitha Silva 4/74, Randeera Ranasinghe 4/38.
North Western Province (2nd inn) – 46/4 in 22 overs: Keshan Wanniarachchi 14, Damitha Silva 12*, Dilum Sudeera 4/13.
Individual Awards
- Damitha Silva (North Western) – Player of the Tournament
- Navindu Nirmal (Southern) – Best Batsman of the Tournament
- Hareen Buddhila (Southern) – Best Bowler of the Tournament
- Pubudu Ganegama (North Western) – Player of the Final.
Top 5 Run-Scorers
| Name | School | Province | Matches | Innings | Runs | Highest | Average | 100s | 50s |
| Navindu Nirmal | St. Aloysius’ | Southern | 5 | 8 | 442 | 82 | 63.14 | 0 | 4 |
| Vishwa Chathuranga | Prince of Wales’ | Western South | 4 | 7 | 345 | 135 | 49.29 | 2 | |
| Lasith Crosspulle | De Mazenod | Eastern | 4 | 6 | 336 | 114 | 84.00 | 2 | 1 |
| Ashen Bandara | St. Aloysius’ | Southern | 5 | 8 | 329 | 74 | 47.00 | 0 | 3 |
| Avishka Fernando | St. Sebastian’s | Western South | 4 | 7 | 318 | 160 | 45.43 | 1 | 2 |
Top 5 Wicket-Takers
| Name | School | Province | Matches | Innings | Runs | Wickets | Average | Economy | 5-Wickets |
| Dilum Sudeera | Karandeniya Central | Southern | 5 | 10 | 961 | 29 | 16.59 | 3.00 | 0 |
| Damitha Silva | Maliyadeva | North Western | 5 | 10 | 1091 | 28 | 21.79 | 3.35 | 1 |
| Hareen Buddhila | St. Aloysius’ | Southern | 5 | 10 | 864 | 27 | 17.30 | 3.24 | 2 |
| Vimukthi Kulathunga | Lumbini | Western Central | 3 | 6 | 516 | 19 | 12.32 | 2.72 | 1 |
| Avindu Theekshana | Richmond | Uva | 4 | 6 | 403 | 18 | 16.56 | 4.44 | 2 |
