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Nalanda rely on seniors to deliver the goods

Nalanda College with only a solitary win in the current season are hoping that their senior players would click well when they take on their traditional rivals Ananda in the 70th annual Battle of the Maroons cricket encounter on March 27 and 28 at the SSC grounds, Maitland Place.

The Nalandians have failed to live upto expectations despite fielding a strong team on paper. The team is captained by fourth year coloursman Niranjan Kumara Manikkage and also includes Sri Lanka Schools player Mevan Porage and several other senior players.

Despite having the services of several experienced players they have failed to click well as a team and have somewhat struggled against strong opponents. However their best effort probably came against St. Peter's College where they almost turned defeat into a memorable victory at the NCC grounds.

In addition the Nalandians have been forced to play most of their home fixtures at neutral venues due to the reconstruction work at Campbell Place. This has severely affected the team and as a result they have failed to produce the same form which they displayed last year.

Nevertheless they are currently placed among the top ten in the Elephant Lemonade Cup group 'A' points table and are certain of competing in the final round. Nalanda's strength is their bowling where skipper Manikkage has been outstanding with a haul of 36 wickets this season. His new ball partner Buddhika Ranaweera too has stuck to his task and has bagged 31 wickets during the season.

The spin department will be in the hands of Kelum Gangodawila, leg spinner Sukitha Peiris, Dilhan Jayasundera and left arm spinner Pradeep Hedigalla. In fact Jayasundera has been quite impressive with a total of 33 wickets to his credit.

The Nalanda batting is spearheaded by opener Sukitha Peiris who is their only centurian in the side having reached the three figure mark in the game against Wesley. In fact Sukitha Peiris is the son of former Nalanda skipper Shanthi Peiris who represented the school with distinction.

Sri Lanka Schools player and vice captain Mevan Porage is another consistent run getter having accumulated over 600 runs while fresher Hiran Gunawardena has a total of over 500 runs to his credit.

The team:

Niranjan Kumara Manikkage (captain), Mevan Porage, Sukitha Peiris, Kelum Gangodawila, Pradeep Hedigalla, Dilhan Jayasundera, Harein de Mel, Kanishka Gamanayake, Buddhika Ranaweera, Chaminda Gunathilaka, Amila Kiriella, Hiran Gunawardena, Manjula Perera, Kanishka Bandarathilaka, Renuka Prasanna, W. Perera, R. de Silva.