Star-studded Colombo confront Jaffna in NSL L/O final tomorrow

Team Jaffna Team Colombo

• Opportunity for national players to get runs and wickets under their belts ahead of WI series

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

With both teams having won against each other once, the day/night clash between Colombo and Jaffna for the National Super League Limited Over title at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Sunday is certain to produce an exciting final commencing at 2:30 p.m.

The Colombo team, led by Sri Lanka white-ball skipper Charith Asalanka, has a star-studded cast in two former white-ball captains Dasun Shanaka and Kusal Perera and national cricketers Avishka Fernando, Nuwanidu Fernando, Ashen Bandara, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Pramod Madushan, Shevon Daniel, and Nishan Peiris. Asalanka is the leading run-getter in the tournament, with 298 (avg. 59.60) with two centuries. Shanaka, Nuwanidu, and Nipun Dananjaya are the other batsmen to score centuries for Colombo, who finished on top of the league standings with seven wins out of eight matches.

Colombo also has the leading wicket-taker in the tournament – left-arm spinner Dilum Sudeera, who jointly shares the top spot with another spinner Muditha Lakshan of Galle, each having taken 17 wickets. Seamer Madushan (12 wickets) and leg-spinner Kavindu Nadeeshan (10) also occupy positions in the top eight of the bowling list. Nadeeshan has the best bowling figures in the tournament, with 5/33 against Galle.

Jaffna’s form has not been as consistent as Colombo, squeezing past Galle by just one point to make it to the final. Both teams had four wins from eight matches. Their main run scorer is Mohammed Shamaaz, the former Zahira College cricketer who has yet to score a first-class hundred but has a century and a fifty in the white-ball game to his name, accumulating 251 runs (avg. 50.20). Shamaaz is the only centurion for Jaffna, while Ron Chandraguptha (224 runs) and Sandun Weerakkody (217) are the other main scorers.

Jaffna also has a few national cricketers in their ranks like skipper Janith Liyanage, Lahiru Madushanka, Binura Fernando, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, and Jeffrey Vandersay. Fast bowler Isitha Wijesundara, who made quite an impact with the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team in South Africa recently, is Jaffna’s main wicket-taker with 11 wickets (avg. 14.00). Spinners Kalhara Senarathne, Viyaskanth, and Vandersay, along with seamers Madushanka, Nipun Malinga and Eshan Malinga, form the core of their bowling.

Jaffna won the first round tie, beating Colombo by five wickets with Wijesundara’s five wickets coupled with the century opening partnership by Weerakkody and Chandraguptha sealing the match in Jaffna’s favour. The return game saw Colombo turn the tables on Jaffna to win by the same margin of five wickets in a low scoring affair where no side topped more than 163.

For national cricketers like Avishka Fernando, Kusal Perera, Janith Liyanage, Binura Fernando, and Jeffrey Vandersay, this game offers them the opportunity to get some runs and wickets under their belts ahead of the white-ball series against West Indies next week.