Women Soldiers beat Ace Capital to clinch CDWCA 6s title
Captain of Army 'A' team Roshini Perera receives the championship Baraka Trophy from chief guest, Mohan de Silva, the Secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket
Sri Lanka Army ‘A’, led by Roshini Perera, beat Ace Capital by 6 runs to clinch the Women’s 6-a-side Championship, organised and conducted by the Colombo District Women’s Cricket Association (CDWCA) to celebrate its silver jubilee.
The tournament was held at the Ace Capital Cricket Club ground in Narahenpita with the participation of 15 teams from leading clubs. Matches were played in three groups and Sri Lanka Army, Ace Capital, Sri Lanka Navy and Badureliya Sports Club reached the semi-final stage after a hectic day of play. In addition to the four semi-finalists Colts CC, Sky C, Malabe DRCC, Wadduwa CC, Chilaw Marians, HR Ladies CC and Moratuwa SC fielded teams.
In the final Army ‘A’ recorded a convincing yet nail-biting 8-run victory after posting 35 runs without losing a wicket and restricting Ace Capital to 27 for 1 in five overs. Imalka Mendis scored 10 runs for Army while Methma Hettiarachchi scored eight runs for the losing finalists. Mendis was deservingly adjudged the player of the final.
Shikara Nuwantha, the captain of Ace Capital, receives the runners-up title, the CDWCA Trophy from the chief guest
In the semi-final Army ‘A’ had to undergo a nerve-wrecking game against Badureliya SC before emerging victorious by a single run. Army batted first and posted 27 runs for the loss of three wickets with Sakunthala de Silva and Sudarshika Bandara chipping in with unbeaten knocks of eight and four. Lakmali Rajapakse claimed a wicket.
Chasing a reachable target of 28, Badureliya SC fell short by a single run, as they were restricted to 26 runs for the loss of two wickets after a clinical bowling performance by the female Soldiers. Kushanthi Piyanage and Chamari Ganesha claimed a scalp each despite Sansala Wanigasekara scoring an unbeaten 10 for the losers.
In the other semi-final, Ace Capital recorded a comfortable 15-run win against Navy ‘A’ despite former national skipper Sashikala Siriwardena contributing well for the losers. Ace Capital scored 35 runs for the loss of two wickets with Shikari Nuwantha hitting 12 runs. Siriwardena claimed a wicket before returning to score three runs not out for Navy, who were restricted to 20 runs. Nuwantha claimed a wicket for the winners.
Special guest Nelka Shiromala presenting a winner of an individual award
During the whole tournament Manuri Dulensa and Shikari Dulansa were the only players to hit sixes each. Dulansa turned out for HR Ladies CC and is a student of Princess of Wales College, Moratuwa while Dulansa represented the losing finalists Ace Capital.
Mohan de Silva, the Secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket, graced the awards ceremony as chief guest while representing the sponsors, Bio Extract Pvt Ltd, the product manufacturers for Baraka in Sri Lanka, its Chief Financial Officer Mohamed Fahim, Marketing Manager Gayan Jayasinghe and Field Sales Manager Irshan Itfan were present as guests of honour.
The CDWCA, headed by Rohini Fernando, had invited Sri Lanka’s first female boxing referee to officiate at Tokyo Olympics and former national boxer, Nelka Shiromala as a special guest at the awards ceremony.
Other institutions who partnered the tournament are Pure Beverages, Diamond Best Food, Hemas Healthcare, Heyleys and Sri Arogrya, who also gave away its products to participants and guests.