U-19 Cricket: 88th Battle of the Maroons on March 4 and 5

Two of the foremost Buddhist institutions in the island, Ananda College and Nalanda College, will meet in the 88th Battle of the Maroons Cricket encounter at the SSC Grounds on March 4 and 5, for the P. de S. Kularatne Memorial Trophy, with play commencing at 10 am on each day. 

Late P. de S. Kularatne, an educationist and a philanthropist joined hands with Col. Henry Steel Olcott in inauguration of Ananda and Nalanda and guided the two schools to be the leading Buddhist of educational institutes of the island. 

The series tally stands with 12 wins for Ananda against 6 for Nalanda, with 70 drawn. 

The last Ananda victory was under Daminda Kularatne in 2003, while Nalanda's last victory under W. Wimalaratne Silva was way back in 1953, in the famous last ball, last run and last man in match. 

This year's clash too will see Nalanda make yet another desperate attempt to break the 64-year jinx. 

This season, Ananda scored four outright wins and 10 first-inning wins in 16 outings, while Nalanda has five outright wins and 10 first-inning wins from 16 matches. 

On performances, it seems two evenly balanced teams will lock horns at this year's edition, with an absorbing two days of Cricket on the cards. 

Ananda, led by all-rounder Kavisha Anjula, has the services of six coloursmen and possess a strong batting line-up of five centurions. 

Dashing batsman and Sri Lanka Under-19 Cricketer Shammu Ashan heads the batting along with skipper Anjula, Sahan Samaraweera, Deelipa Jayalath, Supun Waragoda and Asela Sigera. 

Samaraweera and Anjula have scored nearly 900 runs, while Shammu Ashan, Jayalath and Waragoda have topped the 500-run mark. 

Ananda's bowling attack with three pacemen, two left-arm spinners and two off-spinners, have caused problems to their opponents in most matches. 

The two left-arm spinners Deelipa Jayalath and Asela Sigera, with over 70 wickets and over 50 wickets respectively, are the leading wicket takers, and were well supported by pacemen Anjula, Chamika Gunasekera and Sahan Suraweera. 

The two off-spinners Waragoda and Ashan combine with the leg-spinners to keep their opponents in check. 

Nalanda, led by Dasun Seneviratne, with a noteworthy season, will be looking to end the 64-year win-less drought. 

With six coloursmen in the side, Nalanda too is strong in batting led by the stylish Malinga Amarasinghe who enjoys a fruitful season with the bat with over 750 runs to his credit. 

The other batsmen in the runs this season were skipper Seneviratne (458), Suhanga Wijewardene (563), Kasun Sandaruwan (513) and deputy skipper Laksitha Rasanjana (487). 

Nalanda too has a strong bowling attack with their pacemen Kalana Perera, Suhanga Wijewardene and Madushan Hasaranga always making the initial breakthrough, allowing the spinners to cause serious problems to the middle order. 

Perera has captured 33 wickets, while Wijewardene and Hasaranga have captured over 20 wickets each. 

A strong spin combination led by left-arm orthodox spinner Umeksha Dilshan, supported by two fine off-spinners Asela Kulatunga and Laksith Rasanjana, is the main weapon in the Nalanda bowling armoury. 

The two off-spinners coming on short spells in support of the crafty leg-spinner to rattle the middle order of most opponents, to guide the Maroon and Silver colours to victory. 

Dilshan has 53 wickets, while Kulatunga and Rasanjana have captured 37 and 33 wickets respectively, indicating the heavy responsibility on their shoulders in bowling Nalanda to the success. 

The two skippers, Anjula and Seneviratne share the same view of a positive approach and plan to bat for two sessions, building a sizable score to allow their bowlers to pile on the pressure. 

Both Captains will play with the best traditions of sportsmanship with no quarter asked, for a result that the hordes of present boys, old boys and well-wishers in attendance, will remember for posterity. 

Nalanda coached by old Ben and former Sri Lanka Cricketer Keerthi Gunaratne and the Ananda coached by former Sri Sumangala Cricketer Rohan Soysa are both confident that, this year's match will not be allowed to peter into a drab draw, with every effort made to give spectators their monies worth of high octane Cricket. 

With the spinners dominating the season, the 88th Battle of the Maroons will be, if anything, an exciting encounter. 

Ananda College: Kavishka Anjula (Capt.), Dileepa Jayalath (VC), Shammu Ashan, Asel Sigera, Supun Waragoda, Sahan Samaraweera, Kamesh Nirmal, Chamika Gunasekera, Dushan Hettige, Lahiru Attanayake, Kavindu Gimhan, Kalana Pramod, Lahiru Udayanga, Achila Eranga, Saman Hirushan, Daminda Reshan, Pameesha Abeynayake, Hasindu Shimanka. 
Officials: Rohan Soysa (Coach), Amal Fernando (Asst. Coach), Priyankara Nandasena (MIC)

Nalanda College: Dasun Seneviratne (Capt.), Laksitha Rasanjana (VC), Malinga Amarasinghe, Madushan Hasaranga, Dilhara Polgampola, Kasun Sandaruwan, Umeksha Dilshan, Asela Kulatunga, Rashmika Bandara, Kalana Perera, Kaveesh Madurapperuma, Kalana Kaththiriarachchi, Rusiru De Silva, Avishka Perera, Sachintha Madumal, Hasaranga Wijewardene.
Officials: Keerthi Gunaratne (Coach), Lakshitha Hewage (Asst. Coach), Saman Hettiarachchi (MIC)