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Ananda Nalanda

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Sport
  
Cricket

Timeline
  
1924 – present

Tournament format
  
Annual 2 day cricket match

Participants
  
Ananda College Nalanda College Colombo

Battle of the Maroons is a cricket match played between Ananda College Colombo, and Nalanda College Colombo. It was first played in 1924. Over the years both schools has produced many world famous cricketers. Battle of the Maroons is considered to become the most productive and most popular schools cricket encounter in the Island producing National Cricketers of extraordinary talent and cricketing intellect. Those two schools Ananda and Nalanda continue to provide the largest contingent of players to the Sri Lankan National Cricket squad.

Cricketing Highlights of Ananda and Nalanda

  • Old Nalandian Bandula Warnapura led the Sri Lanka team to win the Sri Lanka's first ever One Day International Cricket match win in 1979, and also he faced Sri Lanka's first test dilivery and scored Sri Lanka's first test run.
  • Old Anandian Sidath Wettimuny was the first Sri Lankan to be honoured Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1985.
  • Sri Lanka's first test captain was a Nalandian Bandula Warnapura, and the 1996 world champion team was led by Anandian Arjuna Ranatunga. The Sri Lanka team that entered the finals in ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 and ICC World Twenty20 2012 were led by Nalandian Mahela Jayawardena.
  • Old Nalandian Roshan Mahanama led the Sri Lanka team in One Day International cricket format, and also Old Anandian Thilina Kandamby and Dinesh Chandimal led the Sri Lanka team in T20 International cricket format.
  • Old Anandian Dinesh Chandimal is the Sri Lanka's youngest One Day International cricket captain.
  • Sri Lanka's first test 50, 100, 200 were scored by Anandians Arjuna Ranatunga, Sidath Wettimuny and Brendon Kuruppu.
  • Old Nalandian Mahela Jayawardena is the first cricketer in Sri Lanka cricket history who scored more than ten thousand runs in test and one day internationals.
  • Sri Lanka's first ever test team in 1981 had 5 players representing Ananda and Nalanda Colleges. Namely Sidath Wettimuny, Arjuna Ranatunga and Ajit de Silva from Ananda and Bandula Warnapura and Lalith Kaluperuma from Nalanda.
  • Sri Lanka's World cup winning team (1996) had 4 players representing Ananda and Nalanda Colleges. Namely Arjuna Ranatunga Anandian, Roshan Mahanama, Asanka Gurusinha and Kumar Dharmasena who are Nalandians.
  • Both schools have so far produced 31 Test players for Sri Lanka (Ananda 17 Test players Nalanda 14 Test players) and 4 of them were Test Captains. Namely Nalandian Bandula Warnapura, Anandian Arjuna Ranatunga, Anandian Marvan Atapattu and Nalandian Mahela Jayawardena.
  • Ananda College and Nalanda College so far produced 43 players who represented Sri Lanka in Test,One Day International and T20 formats.
  • In 1996, (World cup winning year) the Sri Lanka Cricket Chairman was an Anandian Ana Punchihewa and Vice Chairman was Nalandian Thilanga Sumathipala.
  • It was an Old Nalandian Karunaratne Abeysekera who made history in the world of Radio broadcasting by being the first cricket commentator using the Sinhala language. Also well known cricket commentators like Premasara Epasinghe, Palitha Perera, Kamal Deshappriya are Nalandians.
  • Nalandians Roshan Mahanama is an Elite Panel Referee of the International Cricket Council while Kumar Dharmasena is an International Cricket Council Umpire.

    • References

    Ananda-Nalanda Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA