117th Battle of the Maroons

by Reemus Fernando

Dharmaraja captained by Dulara Bandulasena hold the edge when they meet Kingswood in the 117th Battle of the Maroons which starts at the Pallekelle International Cricket Stadium on Friday.

With seven outright victories under their belt, Dharmaraja are among the top teams this season. They ended up among the top four teams in their group at the end of the group stage in the Division I tier B tournament by virtue of the four outright wins in the league. They concluded the tournament at the quarter final stage where they conceded first innings points to St. Peter’s.

Having encountered tough Division I opponents in the tournament proper Dharmaraja are expected to do well against Kingswood who are competing in the Division II tournament.

Dharmaraja will look forward for a solid start from left handers Onajith de Silva and Pulindu Perera. Perera is reputed for strong batting displays but his services were not available for many matches this season due to his Sri Lanka Under 19 commitments. He has scored more centuries and runs for Sri Lanka Under 19s than for Dharmaraja this season. De Silva has scored over 500 runs this season and much is expected from this pair at the Big Match.

Isuru Pannala, who has a safe pair of gloves behind wickets (he has scored over 500 runs this eason), Lakvin Abeysinghe, Nisala Abeyrathne, Irusha Jayawardane and Arosha Mahagedara are expected to form the backbone of Dharmaraja batting.

Lakvin Abeysinghe has been the most consistent batsman for Dharmaraja this season. He has scored over 800 runs and has three centuries and two half centuries in his tally. He has also been handy with his off-spin making a strong spin combination with skipper Dulara Bandulasena and Dakshika Manukalpa.

Fifth year coloursman Bandulasena and Manukalpa are their key strike bowlers. The left arm spinners have accounted for 100 wickets together. Bandulasena’s 50 wickets include two five wicket hauls and a match bag of ten wickets.

Nisala Abeyrathne and Sheshan Marasinghe are taking care of Dharmaraja’s new ball duties.  Both speedsters have taken over 30 wickets each.

Kingswood under Nenuka Dissanayake’s captaincy have done well to reach the quarter-finals of the Division II TIer ‘B’ tournament. Their strong performances against Christ King College, JaEla, Rahula College, Katugastota and Dudley Senanayake College in the tournament proper have powered them to the top four positions in the points table in their group.

However, having encountered Division II opponents for a better part of the season it would be interesting to see how Kingswood perform against their formidable arch rivals.

Vice-captain Kavija Gamage and top order batsman Adil Sherif are the leading batsmen in the lineup. They are expected to take greater share of batting responsibilities. Gamage has scored over 650 runs with two centuries and five half centuries. Sherif has over 400 runs against his name.

In the bowling attack Yosath Abeykoon and Dilshan Weerawansha are sharing the new ball while skipper Nenuka Dissanayake, Kenula Pihiliyanga (left arm spin) and Amesh Rupasinghe are expected to dominate the spin department.

Dharmaraja lead the victory tally of the historic series 35-19, while 62 editions have ended in draws. Dharmaraja are in the possession of the T.B. Tennakoon Challenge Trophy having last won under the captaincy of Tharusha Weragoda in 2015. Kingswood’s last win came way back in 1958 under Maurice Fernando’s captaincy.