Sports
Col. Henry Steel Olcott Memorial Cricket tournament from December 8 at Asgiriya
The Col Henry Steele Olcott Memorial Cricket Tournament organized by Dharmaraja College Cricket Foundation will be held from December 8 to 10 at the iconic Asgiriya International Stadium in Kandy. The eight-team competition features leading schools established by Col Olcott in Sri Lanka, namely Ananda, Nalanda, Mahinda, Dharmapala, Maliyadeva, Dharmasoka, Rahula and this year’s hosts Dharmaraja.
Played among cricket teams formed by the eight premier Buddhist schools, the three-day event is expected to feature former top class national players and former first-class players who played cricket at the highest level, representing their respective schools, top domestic clubs and the country. The tournament has two segments involving present players and past players of the eight schools during the three days. A 6-a-side tournament between schoolboy teams including the finals will be played on the first day while an eight overs per side tournament for past cricketers of the eight schools will be played on the second day.
The semi-finals and finals of the Old Boys tournament, will be played on the final day, which is expected to dish out exciting games. All eight schools have confirmed their respective list of players, which includes well-known names. Ananda College includes former national stars such as Arjuna Ranatunga, Thilina Kandamby, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara and Sanjeewa Ranatunga. Former national all-rounder Upul Chandana turns out for his alma mater Mahinda College. Maliyadeva College has included former national caps Ranjith Madurasinghe and Jeewantha Kulatunga in their list of players. Former fast bowler and present national chief selector Pramodya Wickramasinghe is among the list of players released by Rahula College, Matara. All eight teams have selected their cream of former players who have played the game at the highest level at school and domestic levels.
The Henry Steel Olcott Memorial Cricket Tournament is conducted in honour of Colonel Henry Steele Olcott, the founder of Buddhist educational institutions in Sri Lanka. The inaugural tournament was played in 1999 hosted by Nalanda College and pioneered by Late Bandula Warnapura, the first Test cricket captain of Sri Lanka.
This year the tournament is organised and conducted by the Dharmaraja College Cricket Foundation as the tournament is set to be featured for the 22nd occasion since its inception. From the editions that have played so far, Mahinda, Galle boast of most number of titles won outright, which is seven. Dharmasoka, Ambalangoda have won it five times. They have also emerged as joint champions on three other occasions. Ananda and Maliyadeva have won it on three occasions each. Dharmapala, Pannipitiya have two titles against their name, while Dharmaraja and Nalanda have won it on a single occasion each.
The 22nd Col Henry Steel Olcott Cricket Tournament is sponsored by Fondre Fat spread by Pyramid Wilmar(Pvt) Ltd, Nippon Paint and JN Interiors (Pvt) Ltd.
Playing just his second Test and the first in his team’s starting XI, Pasindu Sooriyabandara made Sri Lanka dream of the rarest of possibilities, but reality imposed itself on the SSC late on day four as India regained their grip on a Test match that had seemed to spiral out of control after the threat of bad weather led them to enforce the follow-on.
After Sooriyabandara put on 58 with Kamil Mishara for the second wicket and 115 with Kamindu Mendis for the third, Sri Lanka were at one stage 209 for 3, or just four runs behind with seven second-innings wickets in hand, on a day-four pitch that was still looking excellent for batting. India’s bowlers were into their 149th over across two consecutive innings, and looking short of both penetration and inspiration against a top order that had never allowed them to settle into their lengths.
Just then, however, Manav Suthar, who had borne the brunt of Sri Lanka’s positive intent, dismissed Dhananjaya de Silva and then Sooriyabandara in the space of two overs, the latter out eight short of a maiden Test hundred. Soon after, Saransh Jain trapped Niroshan Dickwella lbw, and Sri Lanka were effectively 5 for 6. By the time rain arrived to bring an early end to the day, Sri Lanka’s seventh-wicket pair had only added a further 11 runs to their tally.
If Sri Lanka still retain any hope going into the final day of this series, it will rest on the shoulders of Sonal Dinusha, batting on 7 in his final innings of a remarkable series. Earlier in the day, he had converted his overnight 85 into his second century of the series, with his only other completed innings bringing him 84.
Scores:
Sri Lanka 290 in 89.4 overs (Pasindu Sooriyabandara 80, Sonal Dinusha 103; Prasidh Krishna 3-52, Manav Suthar 3-85) and 229 for 6 in 72.4 overs (f/o) (Pasindu Sooriyabandara 92, Kamindu Mendis 55, Sonal Dinusha 7*; Manav Suthar 2-81) lead India 503 for 9 dec by 16 runs
[Cricinfo]
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