Mahinda, Devapathiraja in tussle for the Schools Tier ‘B’ plumb
Two cricket playing schools in the Southern district — Mahinda College Galle and Devapathiraja MMV Ratgama — will battle it out in the final of the Under-19 Division I Tier ‘B’ title scheduled to be worked off from 9.45am today at the NCC ground.
Looking back at the performance of the two teams since the tournament got underway in March, the Mahindians, led by Sri Lanka youth player Navod Paranavithana and Devapathiraja MMV, led by Sudeera Weeraratne qualified to the knockout stage having secured the second spots in their respective groups.
In the league stage Mahinda recorded three wins against Thurstan, St. Aloysius Galle and Moratu MV while losing to St. Peter’s to qualify to the quarterfinals. In the quarters they defeated St. Joseph Vaz Wennappuwa and followed it up with a victory against Ananda in the semis.
Devapathiraja MMV on the other hand too recorded three wins against Dharmasoka MV Amabalngoda, Lumbini MV and St. Servatius Matara and lost to St. Anthony’s Wattala to book the berth to quarterfinal where they overcame the strong Isipathana side. Then again they defeated Dharmasoka MV in the semi-final encounter.
Apart from the tussle between the two teams it’s going to be a proud moment for Nishantha Kumara, the present master-in-charge of the Mahinda team. Nishantha, before taking over Mahinda in 2018 was the master-in-charge of Devapathiraja MMV for a long period of 18 years and he will no doubt celebrate whatever the outcome is going to be.
The two teams are equally balanced possessing talented young cricketers and though the scale is in favour of Mahinda they are not going to have it easy as Devapathiraja MMV wont be easy nuts to crack as they have gone from strength to strength since they were promoted to the top division in the year 2017 when Nishantha was the master-in-charge. Since then they have defeated top notch teams since then.
With this game, the fist XI tournaments conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association, will come to an end for this season.
Navod Paranavithana
Mahinda College
Navod Paranavithana (Captain), Subhanu Rajapaksha, Kawsitha Kodithuwakku, Kushan Madhusha, Dhanuja Induwara, Sandew Induwara, Osindu Kularathne, Kosala Udayanga, Rashmika Madhusanka, Kavidu Lakshan, Sithira Helitha, Shakya Samath, Dinura Kalupahana, Hiruna Gallage, Danindu chamikara, Chethiya Gunasekara, Shehan Hasaranga, Ranmina Hettiarachchi, Maheesha Chandupa, Nikil Jayaweera, Y. Nishantha Kumara (Master-in-Charge), Dhanushka Denagama (Head Coach), Avishka Dilshan (Asst. Coach)
Sudeera Weeraratne
Devapathiraja MMV
Sudeera Weeraratne (Captain), Pawan Sandesh, Jeewaka Shasheen, Sasanka Nirmal, Tharindu Rukshan, Irushka Thimira, Sandaru Theekshana, Dinitha Prabhanka, Matheesha Saranga, Chaminda Sandaruwan, Darshaka Sandeep, Pethum Shaminda, Hiran Chamikara, Chanuka Sulakshana, Thanush Viduranga, Pradeep Rangana, Shadeesha Nethsara, Sandun Madhuranga, Simash Dilunja, Dasun Dilshan, Ranjith Kumbalathara (Master-in-Charge), Ranjan Lasantha (Head Coach), Nimesh Chathuranga (Asst. Coach)