Royal Masters easily overcome Thomian Masters at inaugural Cricket match
The maiden Royal Masters vs Thomian Masters Cricket match organised by the Colombo Masters Cricket Association ( CMCA) concluded at the P. Sara Oval recently, with a convincing win for the Royal Masters. The first edition of this annual feature to be, had all the signs of what to expect in 11 days time, with a 'rocking' atmosphere, cheerleaders and 'papare' music. The fixture was made possible by the generosity of JAT Holdings and Coconut Miracle.
Royal Masters was Captained by Nallaih Deverajan and Thomian Masters by Vajira Wijegunawardena. The toss was won by Devarajan who put the Thomian Masters into bat first.
Taking first lease of the wicket, the Thomain Masters aided by a 76-run opening partnership in 8 overs by Vajira
Wi j egunawardena 35 and Anura Bulankulame 29, closed their 25- over innings with a formidable 180 runs on the board, though Nallaih Deverajan, Zulki Hameed with 3/34 and Rajith Dhanapala with 2/19 restricted the Thomian Masters in the latter stages by taking wickets at regular intervals.
In reply, The Royal Masters openers Shezzard Nazir and Hiran Mallathanthri put up a solid 56 runs in 5 overs, which was followed by a master class 61 n. o. from Zulki Hameed , and an unbroken 5th wicket partnership of 76 runs in only 7 overs, between Dharsha Abeywardena ? sealed the match for Royal Masters, as they scored 182/4 in just 19.1 overs. Nishantha Rajapakse with 3/ 43 and Sidath Samarakkody with 1/19 were the pick of the bowlers for the Thomain Masters.
Man of the Match was Zulki Hameed for his outstanding batting and bowling. Vajira Wijegunawardena won the Best Batsman’s award whilst the Best Bowler’s award went to Nishantha Rajapakse.