continued from Last week
On last week’s article, my colleague Ananda Sumanadasa described the first day’s play of the above match, and he does the second day to the finish on this one. Sumanadasa stated at this stage the lead was only 57 runs with 7 wickets in hand. Then the two De Silva’s took the score to 100 when the former got out for 20 runs, lunch was taken at 108 for 4 with Tilak de Silva and G.C. Perera at the wicket. These two inform batsmen true to form punished the bowling and the score stood at 130 and a lead of 150 runs with six wickets in hand but they collapsed to 139 for 7 to a deadly spell of bowling by Ponnamperuma who claimed the wickets of De Silva, Dayapriya and Gunaratna, G.C. who was holding the fort also succumbed to Ponnamperuma for 35 runs and Ananda was all out for 160. Nalanda bowlers spearheaded by Ponnamperuma kept a tight leash on the Anandian batsmen to keep them quiet and hence their score low.
Nalanda was to get 145 runs in 160 minutes. One could sense that it was going to be a battle of nerves from the word ‘go’. A.G.Perera had Shantha Peiris bowled off his pads. Gunaratne and Perera bowled to a tight length and line gave the Nalandian batsmen no respite. Doolwela the thorn in Ananda’s first innings hung his bat out to a Gunaratna outswinger and Tilak de Silva snapped up the catch in the slips. Both the openers were back in the pavilion for 5 runs.The batsmen at the crease were Amarasekera and Narangoda, they made matters worse for Nalanda when Amarasekera was needlessly run out when Nalanda could least afford it. Sumanadasa stated that when things go wrong they can go horribly wrong as Nalanda was soon to find out. At tea Nalanda were 9 for 4 with Wijesekera and Jayawardene at the wicket. Their chances of winning had slipped away.
They did not fare any better after tea as Perera and Gunaratna had a stranglehold on them and both were given the marching orders, 16 for 6. The seventh wicket pair of Seneviratne and Gunawardene, their last recognised batsmen. Seneviratne who scored heavily for Nalanda that season showed some aggression putting life into the batting by scoring elegant strokes giving slim hopes to Nalanda. They put on 27 runs in even time, The defiant Senewiratne left caught behind by a hostile ball from Gunaratna, the Score stood at 40 for 7, Ananda was smelling an outstanding victory by now.
Gunawardene was left to carry the can with the tailenders at his disposal; he gave a dolly catch to Dayapriya at short extra cover deceived by Gunaratna’s flight. The Anandian fielders were gathering around the new batsman Anura de Silva like vultures, but it was Ponamperuma at the other end who got out, the score was 45 for 9.
Every ball was accompanied by a deafening roar by the Ananda spectators, in spite of the din Sumandasa stated that the last pair was holding the fort stout-heartedly. Anura de Silva even then was showing his courage and talent stroking two superb boundaries getting into double figures, they were going at more than run a minute. A.G. thought enough is enough and brought himself on and immediately got through Anura de Silva’s defence to flatten his leg stump, his score of 14 was the second highest by the Nalandians.
In the end Guneratna with match winning figures of 13-5-26-5 and A.G.Perera with match figures of 16.3-3-49-8 were really outstanding, concluded Ananda Sumanadasa the chirpy Ananda opener.
This was a historic win for Ananda and at the conclusion the hat collection started in earnest, it was the reserves role to play the collection game, it’s needless to say the hats were full to the brim and some portion of it was allocated to our ground boy.
A rich and famous old boy invited the whole team plus the coach and the support staff to dinner at a plush hotel. Drinks also flowed under the table and some tasted the hard stuff for the first time away from the prying eyes of their loved ones.
After the dinner, we purposely isolated ourselves to paint the town red and the first stop was Visaka Vidyalaya hostel, where already established contacts met undercover, not to mention new ones as well. It was all innocent fun and nothing below the belt or waist.
The next pit stop was the Galle Face Green where a large gathering of Anandians congregated to celebrate the win. A band was playing, people were singing and dancing and hugging total strangers and not only their girlfriends and casual acquaintances. Some guys were already walking about wobbly having had too much of the good thing too early. The whole of the Ananda team was still “dumb struck,” the victory had not entered their respective blood streams just yet, no wonder it took a few days. In a sporting gesture, we invited the Nalandians to join us but they politely declined to come, we heard later that that they were drowning their sorrows elsewhere.
The following Monday was declared a school holiday, and we had time to recover from the revelling of Sunday night. Tuesday morning we were to congregate at the Borella junction to be taken to College in an open decked double decker. We have never come across such adulation which embarrassed me a wee bit because I did not play a major role in this famous victory, anyhow cricket is a team game so be it I thought.
The double decker daubed with the maroon and gold flags stopped at the college gates to a rousing welcome by the teachers, prefects and schoolboys and headed to a special assembly where the entire cricket team but the freshers were awarded the “College Colours.”
Silently I said to myself, “Oh what a feeling, sends you reeling!”
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