Sri Lanka: Captains grab the limelight (14 January 1999)

14 January 1999

Sri Lanka: Captains grab the limelight

By Sa'adi Thawfeeq

It turned out to be a captain's weekend in the Premier cricket championships with five of them grabbing the limelight. However, all but one, finished on the winning side.

Top of the list was former Sri Lanka cricketer Chandika Hathurusingha's contribution of a career best knock of 161 and match bag of five wickets which enabled Moors SC beat NCC outright and displace SSC from the top of the standings.

Hathurusingha made NCC pay dearly for lapses on the field when he played the sheet anchor role to steady his side's innings after they had at one time wobbled at 88 for 4. He had good support from Asela Jayasinghe (64), who helped him add 121 for the fifth wicket. Further assistance from the tail saw Moors cruising past the 400-run mark and taking maximum batting points.

NCC whose first innings batting was destroyed for 162 by left-arm spinner Rangana Herath (6/49), began their second innings with a massive deficit of 244. They never put up strong resistance and folded up tamely for 193.

Defending champions SSC were rescued by a captain's knock of 203 not out by Hemantha Wickremaratne in their match against Tamil Union. In reply to Tamil Union's total of 346, SSC lost three wickets for 43, before Wickremaratne found an able ally in Rohan Galappathy (89), who helped him raise the total by 153 for the fifth wicket.

SSC were still not out of the woods, finishing the second day trailing by 66 runs with half the side out. But the obdurate left-hander performed one of his customary rescue acts for his club to take the game away from Tamil Union by coming to within seven runs of improving on his career best score of 209. SSC eventually ended with a first innings lead of 100 and when stumps were drawn on the final day, it was Tamil Union who were fighting hard to save the match with their last pair in and only 44 runs on. Former Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Jayantha Silva caused the Tamil Union slide by taking four second innings wickets.

Antonian SC skipper Thushara Kodikara played the stellar role in his team's outright win over Kurunegala YCC at Kurunegala taking four wickets in each innings. Opening bat Buddhika Ekanayake's knock of 90 for Antonians in the first innings was the only individual score over fifty in this low scoring game where former Sri Lanka off-spinner Ranjith Madurasinghe took the first ten wicket haul of the season.

Panadura captain Kapila Silva scored his maiden first-class century in guiding his club to a first innings points win over Matara SC. Silva thumped an undefeated 127 in 219 minutes with 14 fours and shared with Nesala Mendis (76), a ninth wicket partnership of 153 which equalled the existing first-class record held by Colts pair Rupenath Wickremaratne and Sudath Munaweera against Singha SC in 1989-90.

Panadura were the fourth club during the weekend to top 400 runs and take full bonus points for batting. They were nowhere near to achieving that when they finished the first day at 296 for 8, but the record-equalling partnership made it possible.

Nihal Soysa was the only captain to finish on the losing side when Police conceded first innings points to Galle CC. Soysa took seven wickets with his left-arm deliveries to bowl Galle out for 345, but Police could not make much headway against that total being dismissed for 166 and then following on losing half the side for 220 before the match ended.

Galle CC's match-winner was Pasan Wanasinghe, the former Antonian SC cricketer. He scored a century (127) and took five wickets in the match bowling at medium-pace.

Former champions Bloomfield already without the services of Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama (both in Australia) were further weakened by the absence of acting captain Kumara Dharmasena and all-rounder Shanuka Dissanayake - both of whom are away in Dubai with the Hatton National Bank team. These losses didn't seem to deter their aspirations for they performed creditably in the circumstances to pull off an outright win by an innings against BRC at Havelock Park.

The two key players who starred in their victory were youngsters - under 19 poolist Duminda Perera of D.S. Senanayake College and promising leg-spinner Priyankara Wickremasinghe. Perera, not to be confused with the former Anandian and present BRC cricketer with the similar name, stroked his way towards a maiden first-class hundred on debut.

Bloomfield having bowled BRC out for 155, were struggling at 115 for 6 when young Perera walked out to bat. With the experienced Pulasthi Gunaratne (74) at the other end, Perera grew in confidence to carry Bloomfield not only to safety, but towards obtaining a substantial first innings lead of 186. Then Wickremasinghe with his leg-spin baffled the BRC batsmen to take a career best 7 for 61 (9 for the match).

Another young promising cricketer to grab the headlines was Tuan Mohamed Dilshan, the former Kalutara Vidyalaya wicket-keeper and opening batsman. He would have done his former school coach Ranjan Paranavithane proud when he compiled a career best 194 for Sebastianites in their match against Singha SC. Paranavithane is currently coaching Sebastianites and Dilshan, who is a Sri Lanka 'A' poolist was unaware that during his marathon knock which occupied 347 minutes at the crease, he was being included in the World Cup pool of 30 players. He missed out on a well deserved double century when frustration got the better of him when the Singha bowlers concentrated bowling on the leg side.

Thanks largely to Dilshan, Sebastianites hit up the highest total of the season - 462 for 6 declared, but on a flat docile De Soysa Stadium pitch, Singha also prospered to reply with 349. Overall, 946 runs were scored over the three days with only 18 wickets falling.

Colts continued their disappointing run when they lost on first innings to CCC. Their only bright spark was the superb bowling of former Sri Lanka fast bowler Erik Upashantha who took a career best 8 for 75. Colts could manage only 222 and 199 in both innings and the problem it seems lays with their batting more than the bowling.

CCC's heroes were Yasas Tillekeratne and Duncan Arnolda, who each made a fifty and up-and-coming fast bowler Indika Gallage whose career best burst of 7 for 62 in the second innings came a shade too late for them to chase and get the required 148 runs for an outright victory.

Source :: Daily News (https://www.lanka.net)