Malinga crowns himself with a record haul
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So it’s final and as expected it’s a total surprise. Finally, after weeks of domination the ultimate supremacy of the fortress went to Malinga Amarasinghe of Nalanda College, who took everyone, in particular Sachin Dalpethado by surprise as the 36th Bata-the Sunday Times Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 2015 competition came to a thrilling finale.
With a record number of 61851 votes in the final week, Malinga took away the All-Island Schools crown, which all thought that belonged to Sachin of St. Peter’s College. Sachin, who took the leadership from the fourth week from Himesha Ranganath of Royal College Panadura, maintained his stronghold unblemished until Malinga supplied with an unexpected, but yet a powerful move.
Sachin had 21084 votes in the penultimate week of the competition and was sitting pretty yet vulnerably with the deficit reading as 2509. It could have gone in favour of Sachin if the margin was bigger or if he expected a strike-back from Malinga. In the end Malinga snatched the All-Island Schools crown with a staggering deficit of 34249.
The competition predicted to be impulsive and signs of uncertainty were evident with the unfathomed progress of Malinga, who maintained a healthy margin for number of weeks. In the end he sprung a real surprise.
Aravinda Akurugoda of St. Joseph’s College ended the competition at third with 5018 votes to his account, but way far behind Malinga and Sachin. Next to him was Ranganath, who will have the consolation of leading the competition in the first three weeks, at fourth with 2313 votes. Following them are Pathum Madushanka of St. Joseph’s College at fifth and last year’s winner Randev Pathirana of Royal College Colombo at sixth. The only one to make some progress within the top ten, at least in the final week, is Thimira Jayasinghe of Thurstan College. He moved to seventh from tenth position, pushing down Lakshina Rodrigo of St. Peter’s College, Charith Asalanka of Richmond College and Shehan Weerasinghe of Zahira College by a slot each in the top ten.
The Emerging Schools contest was won by Nipun Malinga of Vidyaloka College Galle who enjoyed the top spot from the start. His progress was not so overwhelming but others too were far behind him, making him a relaxed winner. Behind Nipun finishes Udith Dilsara of St. Peter’s College Negombo as runner-up with a deficit of 1956 votes.
Dilsara completes the contest with 914 votes, an addition of 62 from last week. He should be regretting for not pushing a bit hard during the final few weeks, when the competition was still wide open. Achintha Ushan of Vidyaloka College Galle, who joined the contest during the latter stage finishes at third.
Sahan Thennakoon grabbed the International Schools segment title, which too uncertainty loomed for weeks. Sahan of Lyceum International Panadura and Shimraz Shahill of Alethea International School were battling closely for weeks. But with very little challenge from his rival, Sahan won the race by a margin of 1691 votes. Sahan’s final tally reads as 3959, an addition of 489 votes from the penultimate week of the contest. In contrast Shimraz, managed to add just 61 votes, taking his tally to 2268 at the end. Here too, the second-placed failed to capitalise on the opportunities had for weeks, as in the Emerging Schools segment.
The winners are set to receive their respective awards and prizes at the 36th Bata-the Sunday Times Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year 2015 show, which is scheduled to be held at the BMICH in Colombo on July 24.
Name School
All-Island Schools
Malinga Amarasinghe Nalanda College 80425
Sachin Dalpethado St. Peter’s College 46176
Aravinda Akurugoda St. Joseph’s College 5018
Himesha Ranganath Royal College Panadura 2313
Pathum Madushanka St. Joseph’s College 1568
Randev Pathirana Royal College Colombo 1562
Thimira Jayasinghe Thurstan College 1143
Lakshina Rodrigo St. Peter’s College 1119
Charith Asalanka Richmond College 916
Shehan Weerasinghe Zahira College 848
Harith Samarasinghe Royal College Colombo 655
Ravin Sayer Trinity College 643
Sachindu Kolambage Maris Stella College 640
Wanindu Hasaranga Richmond College 420
Dineth Navodya St. Peter’s College 311
Emerging Schools
Nipun Malinga Vidyaloka College Galle 2870
Udith Dilsara St. Peter’s Negombo 914
Achintha Ushan Vidyaloka College Galle 11
International Schools
Sahan Thennakoon Lyceum Panadura 3959
Shimraz Shahill Alethea International 2268
Sasika Ratnathilake Lyceum Nugegoda 54