The Final of the Sri Lanka University Cricket Championship 2023 in the 14th Sri Lanka University Games was held yesterday (18th) between Sri Jayawardenepura University and Colombo University at the University Grounds in Colombo. The main host of this year’s SLUG Tournament was the Eastern University.
Sri Jayawardenepura University became champions for the third consecutive time in the history of this tournament. Sri Jayawardenepura University won the Cricket championship in the previous two editions of the SLUG tournament, in 2016 and 2019.
Vasanthan Jathushan, the Captain of the Colombo University team, won the toss and decided to bat first. However, they got off to a terrible start, losing their first 4 wickets for 16 runs in 6.2 overs.
After being under pressure earlier, wicket-keeper batter Gihan Madusara and Himsara Randeni brought some momentum by building a superb century stand of 109 runs for the 5th wicket. Both of them went on to score valuable half-centuries as Randeni was the top scorer 66. His knock came off 72 balls, including 9 fours and a six. Madusara managed to build a solid knock as he scored 51 runs in 102 balls.
With the wicket of Randeni, the opponents fought back hard and were able to pick up another two quick wickets. However Colombo’s lower-order offered resistance once again as Ruvin Seneviratne and Vinu Veerakkodi stitched together 45 runs for the 8th wicket, helping them to post 197/9 in 50 overs.
On the bowling front, right-arm fast bowler Kasun Rodrigo took 3 wickets, while left-arm fast bowler Dinath Dissanayake took 2 wickets for 25 runs. Asel Sigera and Isuru Kavinda shared one wicket each.
In reply, the Sri Jayewardenepura University team lost their first 4 wickets with 90 runs on the board. However, the opening batter Umesh Lakshan and Sheran Fonseka added a sensational 104 runs for the 5th wicket as they reached the target with 6 overs to spare.
Lakshan, who was the star performer with the bat, smashed a brilliant hundred. He scored 102 runs facing 115 balls, with 8 fours & 2 sixes. Fonseka took them home with an unbeaten 38 runs. Randeni, who scored a fighting half-century earlier, followed it up by scalping two wickets .
Brief Scores:
Colombo University 197/9 (50): Himsara Randeni 66, Gihan Madusara 51, Ruvin Seneviratne 34, Kasun Rodrigo 3/42, Dinath Dissanayake 2/25
Sri Jayawardene Pura University 198/5 (44): Umesh Lakshan 102, Sheran Fonseka 38*, Himsara Randeni 2/48
Match Result: Sri Jayewardenepura University won by 5 wickets.
 between Sri Jayawardenepura University and Colombo University at University Grounds in Colombo. The main host of this year's SLUG Tournament was the Eastern University. ){kind=link}