Dhammaratne Junior School stun Antonian girls

Dhammaratne Junior School, Dekinda – a hamlet 15 kilometres from Nawalapitiya surrounded by tea plantations – scored a stunning 70-run win over St. Anthony’s Girls College, Kandy, in their Sri Lanka Cricket’s Twenty20 hard ball cricket tournament match played at Katugastota yesterday.

They had no facilities at all except a damaged half matting and the cricket materials given to them by the Minister of Sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage. They were introduced to the game recently by the Kandy Dis- trict cricket coach Amila Pinnaduwa and being strongly built village lasses they picked up the game very quickly.

Coming to Katugastota and defeating the Antonian girls only a few metres from their home terrain is a great achievement by these village girls who had hardly any exposure to the game.

The Antonian girls would have suffered a more humiliating defeat if not for the fact that their grand total of 96 had 45 extras without which they had scored only 51 off the bat.

For Dhammaratne Junior School, Thakshila Maduwanthi made 46 and also took 2 for 26.

Dhammaratne Junior School 166 for 3 wickets in 20 overs (W.D. Thakshila Maduwanthi 46, Sanduni Nimesh 52 not out, Hasini Liyanaarachchi 20 not out, Prabodha Hettiarachchi 2 for 35)

St. Anthony’s Girls’ College, Kandy 96 for 8 wickets in 20 overs (Lakmali Ratnayake 24, Y.G.D.H. Yatawara 12, Sandiri Bandara 2 for 12, Susini Thakshani 2 for 19, Thakahila Maduwanthi 2 for 26) (UJJ)