A masterful quick-fire knock by Nalanda College left hand number five batsman Eranga Jayakody who made 83 was the main highlight on the first day of their 93rd Battle of the Maroons cricket encounter against Ananda College at the SSC ground yesterday.
Jayakody together with Kushmitha Silva (57) put on 124 runs for the fourth wicket as the Ananda bowlers tried desperately to separate the pair after making inroads initially.
The result was that Nalanda were able to declare at 280 for 5 after rain set in to halt play and in reply Ananda were 65 for 1 at the end of the day.
Nalanda skipper Chanul Athukorala made an unbeaten 44 and together with Senesh Wijesinghe (40) hammered the Ananda bowlers to all parts of the ground in an unbroken sixth wicket partnership of 74 runs.
At one stage Nalanda were struggling at 55 for 3 before Jayakody and Silva teamed up to consolidate the innings after Ananda paceman Kaveesha Mendis grabbed two wickets on a greenish looking strip.
Jayakody was a picture of confidence and collected his runs mostly off the front foot with well timed drives that kissed the turf on the way to the boundary.
He reached his half century with six fours and a six and in all hit eight fours and three sixes while Silva struck five fours and one six in his 57.
Chief Scores:
Nalanda 281 for 5 dec (Eranga Jayakody 83, Kushmitha Silva 57, Chanul Athukorala 44 no, Senesh Wijesinghe 40 no, Rusiru Vilochana 32, Ayesh Shashimal 2/55, Kaveesha Mendis - 2/61)
Ananda 65 for 1 (Kanchana de Livera 33 no)