Ananda conclude league in pole position

 by Reemus Fernando  

Despite a shock defeat at the hands of Dharmapala, Ananda have concluded the league stage of the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘B’ limited overs tournament as the leading team in group ‘X’.

The team captained by Iruth Gimshan recorded six victories during the group stage where they met eight teams. They beat St. Aloysius’ (by 48 runs), St. Joseph Vaz’s (by four wickets), Isipathana (by eight wickets), St. Sylvester’s (by 131 runs), Holy Cross (by seven wickets) and Dharmaraja (by ten wickets). They earned bonus points from as many as five matches, while the match against St. Peter’s ended in a no decision. Dharmapala were the only team to record a victory against Ananda.

St. Aloysius’ and St. Peter’s are trailing behind Ananda in second and third positions in the points table in group ‘X’. Both teams have one match remaining in their schedules but Ananda are in an unassailable position as they have accumulated 31 points from their six wins.

St. Aloysius’ and St. Peter’s have 21 points each.

Isuru Ayesh, Minaga Perera and Ashinsa Nainayake in the bowling department and Nethula Edirimanne, Kanchana de Livera, Kenul de Zoysa and skipper Gimshan with the bat have done well for Ananda during the league stage.

Ayesh is their leading wicket taker. He has taken 14 wickets at an average of 9.64 runs, while Perera has 12 wickets against his name.

Edirimanne has aggregated 198 runs. Kanchana de Livera has accumulated 190 runs.

Now Ananda will advance to the knockout stage as one of the favourites in the Tier ‘B’ tournament. St. Aloysius’ and St. Peter’s too are almost certain of their places in the knockout stage.