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Kandy cricket going great guns in Sara Trophy tourney
By Aubrey Kuruppu
The cricketers of the two Sara Trophy playing clubs in Kandy have done their teams proud by qualifying for the Sara Trophy quarter finals. The icing on the cake, as it were, is that both teams - Kandy CC and Kandy Youth CC topped their respective groups.

Kandy cricket clubs forte was, probably, their batting. Nipuna Ratnayake, a former Antonian captain, was in irresistible form, scoring two centuries, a ninety and a seventy among other decent scores. Opener Muditha Wijekoon also had a big hundred but was a trifle inconsistent. Suresh Pieris continued to show that the years have not withered his skills by batting authoritatively. His driving and pulling have been good. Others such as Wickremanayake and Kolugala have contributed their share.

The bowling, though not outstanding, has sufficed to see them through. Baddegama and Kolugala use their experience to good effect. Skipper Aruna Dange has got wickets whenever he decided to use himself. Two recent recruits, schoolboys Chandana Bandara (left arm medium) and Malintha Wikcremasinghe (left arm spin) have made a decent contribution to their success.

Kandy youth led by Chaminda Kodikara have a little less batting fire power than Kandy CC. Yet they have more youngsters in their ranks. Former Under 19 national player Prasad Ranawaka has obtained heaps of wickets. Another Antonian, Samson Burke, has been among the runs, but the team looks forward to bigger contributions from him. Hard-hitting Rameez scored a hundred in one of the early games but seems to have gone off the boil a little bit.

Stumper Kodikara (Chameera) the former Trinitian, has been alert behind the stumps. However he has not made many meaty contributions in front of them. Schoolboy Pathirana has made useful contributions with bat and ball.

The performance of the two clubs makes for a fascinating study. Kandy CC have played most of their matches at Katugastota and in consequence, the runs have flowed on a flat track and a fast outfield. They have generally out-batted their opponents.

Kandy Youth, who play their home matches at Peradeniya, have found run-making difficult on a spin-friendly surface and a slightly heavy outfield. But their spinners have had a ball and picked up wickets in profusion.

Rivalry between Kandy's two Sara clubs is quite intensive given a few cross - overs. If they do meet in the next round, it should be a tight, no holds barred battle.

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