Maris Stella College, Thimbirigaskatuwa and Lyceum International School, Wattala emerged as the boys’ and girls’ overall champions respectively at the Western Province Schools Games athletics championship, which concluded at Diyagama on Friday.

‎Maris Stella produced a strong all-round performance to secure the boys’ title, with St. Benedict’s College, Kotahena finishing runners-up and Maris Stella College, Negombo taking third place.

‎The Thimbirigaskatuwa school’s success was highlighted by an outstanding performance from Deesara Herath, who was adjudged the boys’ Best Athlete after producing a 7.49m effort in the Under-20 long jump.

‎Maris Stella also produced another Best Athlete through Akash Peiris, who claimed the Under-14 boys’ award with a 12.91m performance in the shot put.

‎The school further underlined its strength in sprinting by establishing a new meet record in the Under-18 boys’ 4x100m relay. The Maris Stella quartet clocked 42.4 seconds to take the gold.

‎Their depth was also evident in the relay events, where Maris Stella finished as the overall runners-up.

‎In the girls’ competition, Lyceum International School, Wattala secured the overall championship, with the school’s success spearheaded by Risansa Nirupama. She was named the girls’ Best Athlete following her impressive 24.49-second performance in the Under-20 200m.

‎The performances of Herath and Nirupama were among the standout individual displays of the championship, while Maris Stella’s meet record in the Under-18 4x100m added further gloss to their successful campaign.

Royal College, Colombo held their nerve to beat Wadduwa Central College by two wickets in a low scoring thriller in the Under 17 Division II final at S. Thomas’ College Grounds, Mount Lavinia on Sunday.

‎Royal chased down a modest target of 104 with just two wicket in hand and two balls to spare.

‎Chasing the target Thumindu Somasiri led the way with a fluent 40 off 61 balls studded with eight fours, and he added 61 for the first wicket with Isuka Wickramasinghe (14) to give the innings a strong platform.

‎But once Somasiri fell in the 19th over, Royal lost their way, sliding from 61 for 1 to 102 for 8 as Imesh Chathuranga and Kaveesha Sayuranga shared seven wickets between them.

‎Imesh Chathuranga was the pick of the Wadduwa bowlers, claiming 4/26, while Kaveesha Sayuranga backed him up with 3/16 from ten economical overs. With the required target well within reach but wickets tumbling, Royal’s lower order was left to see the side home. Ahamad Rahimdeen (4*) and Senesh Rathnayaka (1*) kept their cool at the death, guiding Royal to 104/8 in 34.5 overs to seal victory by two wickets.

‎Batting first Wadduwa Central struggled to post 103 as Dinuja Wellahewage ran through the tail with a five wicket haul from six overs. Senesh Rathnayaka took three wicket while Senuth Perera picked up two for 24.

‎Dinith Newumal top-scored with a brisk 30 off 42 balls, including three boundaries, before falling to Senesh Rathnayaka. Chamesh Mokshan (11) and Kaveesha Sayuranga (10) were the only other batters to reach double figures, as the middle and lower order folded under pressure.

‎With the victory Royal have now bagged both the Division I and II cricket titles of the Under 17 age category.

If spin is to decide the Women’s T20 Asia Cup final, both India and Sri Lanka have plenty to call upon. India’s spin attack, led by Deepti Sharma, has taken 26 wickets in the tournament,  the most by a side. Sri Lanka are next with 25. That makes it seem like a spin vs spin and more spin kind of title contest.

On the plus side for India is that they have appeared well-rounded on the whole. Smriti Sharma and Shafali Verma have scored the bulk of the runs.

Sri Lanka, by contrast, have had to fight for momentum with the bat on the slow Dubai pitches. They were 33 for 4 in the semi final against Pakistan before Hrshitha Samarawickrema and Kavisha Dilhari revived and then completed the chase. Prior to that, they were 44 for 5 against Bangladesh and had to depend on Samarawickrama’s composed knock to seal their semi-final spot. They were also 45 for 5 against Indonesia in the league stage, before Nilakshi Silva lifted them.

That batting order has looked shaky. Chamari Athapaththu allying just 63 runs from four innings and Imesha Dulani 64 from four innings is a concern. And India’s bowling – quick bowler Nandani Sharma has been in good form too – might be tougher to handle than what Sri Lanka have faced so far.