SERENDIB CRICKET

With only the required minimum (6 members) present in the ground at the time for the toss, Buddhika Samarakoon (standing in for captain Amilendra Kodithuwakku, who was incidentally also standing in for the regular captain Shiron Dharshana) called correctly and elected to bat first. The opening pair, Jayathura Samarakoon and Buddhika Manoj, under clear instructions to avoid losing a wicket before the rest of the team arrived to the ground, did just that and continued their good work, before Jayathura who had made an almost run a ball 33 was out LBW off the bowling of R. Balasubramanian. Navaratnam the débutante for Serendib, hanged around a bit, while Buddhika and the generosity showed by the Tigers in the form of extras, brought up the 100 for Serendib. Navaratnam, and Tharaka Pathberiya fell to T.S. Babu in consecutive balls when the score was 105. 5 runs later, Balasubramaniam bowled Manoj for 47. Manoj was unlucky to miss a well deserved half-century, but he had done his job for his team. The rest of the batsmen, most notably Duminda Wickramasinge; 19 out of 19 deliveries, Buddhika Samarakoon; 16 out of 9 deliveries, didn't waste many deliveries and picked up the pace to finish the innings at 204. If Duminda Wickramasingha hadn't carelessly run himself out, and if Amesh Weerasinghe had remembered to slide his foot back inside the crease, an even bigger score would have been in the cards. For the Tigers, Balasubramaniam and Babu shared 3 wickets each, and the ever dependable Pramod Patel picked up 2.

The bright sunny weather at the start of the match had given way to cold and overcast conditions halfway through the Serendib innings, and by the time the Tigers' opening pair arrived at the crease, a cold gentle breeze was adding to the misery of the fielders and umpires. Amilendra Kodithuwakku, brought himself in to bowl the opening over, and found helpful swing in the cold damp conditions. After taking a few deliveries to discover the correct line and length, Amilendra produced a peach of an inswinger to clean bowl Anil N.T. After the next batsman, Pramod Patel, played into his stumps in Amilendra's second over, the Serendib bowlers were beginning to sense blood. Asankha Pallegedara was brought into the attack immediately, and in no time at all collected 4 wickets in just 4 overs for a mere 9 runs. Amesh and Duminda collected a wicket each, and the Tigers were 87 for 8 at the break. Buddhika Manoj resumed the attack after the break, and didn't waste any time in cleaning up the remaining two wickets without any addition to the total score, completing a perfect day's work for his team. Good ol' Extras(26) was the highest scorer, and only two batsmen, T.A Ramasubramaniam(22), and R. Balasubramaniam(20. n.o) managed to get into double figures.