Mahinda and Nittambuwa, Champions at the Murali Harmony Cup 2016

Mahinda College Galle played a clinical and well executed game against the much-fancied Nalanda College Colombo to win the Murali Harmony Cup 2016 for the first time in emphatic fashion at the Kilinochchi Madya Maha Vidyalayam Grounds in Kilinochchi.

Nalanda College who had played their preliminary games at the same venue had an early advantage as far as the conditions were concerned. After winning the toss the Nalanda College skipper had no hesitation in batting first. Mahinda College Galle however had wanted just that and bowled to a plan. Their pacers Kavinda, Thewarapperuma and Malinga were relentless at the beginning giving the batsman hardly any margin for error picking 4 wickets at the top.

Senevirathne (28) and Sandaruwan (33) batted through the tough bowling onslaught to steady the ship with a 42 run partnership. However Kaveen (2/27) and Malinga (3/17) decimated the Nalanda College batting lineup and ended up restricting them to just 117 runs.

Boys' winners- Mahinda College

The boys from Borella were put to the test earlier on by Kavinda (28) and Dulsara with attacking stroke-play hardly allowing the bowlers to settle down. Manasinghe chipped in with 2 wickets for 19 runs but things changed drastically once Mahinda skipper Welihinda (49*) and Malinga (30*) were set in the crease.  The pair put on a stand of 81 runs for the third wicket and ensured they saw the team through to the end finishing the game in 16.4 overs and winning it by an impressive 8 wickets.

Welihinda was adjudged the Player of the Finals and the Tournament for his outstanding overall performances.

Meanwhile in the Ladies’ Tournament, defending champions Nittambuwa Ladies continued their form as they beat Matale Ladies as they chased down a target of 85 runs in 15.4 overs. P Ranabahu’s 26 run contribution won her the Player of the Final award.

The 2016 Murali Harmony Cup was played at five grounds across northern Sri Lanka in the towns of Jaffna, Oddusuddan, Mankulam and Kilinochchi from 21 to 25 September. It is a reconciliation and community-building T20 cricket tournament featuring U19 schoolboys and U23 women cricketers designed to promote unity, goodwill, teamwork, the spirit of fair play and service to disadvantaged rural communities.  16 boys’ teams and eight ladies’ teams from across Sri Lanka played two matches every day at each ground, with the finals on 25 September at the Kilinochchi Central College Grounds.

Ladies' winners - Nittabuwa Ladies

Score summary

Nalanda College 117/9 (20/20 ov)

Mahinda College 120/2 (16.4/20 ov)

 Matale Ladies 84 (17.1/20 ov)

Nittabuwa Ladies 85/4 (15.3/20 ov)

MHC 2016 Awards

1.      Player of the Ladies’ Final – Pabasara Ranabahu (Nittambuwa Ladies)

2.      Player of the Boys’ Final – Ravindu Welihinda (Mahinda)

3.      Best Batter of MHC – Satya Sandeepani (FoG)       

4.      Best Bowler of MHC – MG Sewandi (Shakthi)

5.      Player of the Tournament Ladies MHC – Ruwini Madushika (Nittambuwa Ladies)

6.      Best Bowler of the Tournament MHC – Umeksha Dilshan (Nalanda)

7.      Best Batsman (Boys’) of MHC - Chatura Milan (FoG)

8.      Player of the Tournament MHC (Boys’) - Ravindu Welihinda (Mahinda))                   

9.      Runner Up-Ladies’ Final – Matale Ladies

10.  Runner Up Boys’ Final – Nalanda College

11.  Runner Up Boys’ Final – Nalanda College

12.  Winners Ladies’ Final   Nittambuwa Ladies

13.  Winners Boys’ Final Mahinda College

For team scores and statistics please visit; www.themuralicup.com/scores/

Mahinda skipper Welihinda scoring the winning runs

Nittambuwa Ladies' Ranabahu was adjudged player of the final