Master Blasters claim SJPL 2021

Master Blasters, led by Akith Jarudika, beat Lion Warriors by 42 runs to annex the Sanath Jayasuriya Premier League (SJPL) 2021 title in perfect style at the Bloomfield ground in Colombo last Sunday. Played among five teams of young school cricketers, also belonging to various cricket academies from Sri Lanka, the tournament was played from December 27 of 2021, before the curtains came down on January 9.

The five teams in contention were, eventual winners Master Blasters, losing finalists Lion Warriors, league stage leaders Colombo Cubs, Universal Kings and Dynamic Spartans, who failed to impress without a single win in eight games. After the league stage, the top four teams were drafted to play in a series of qualifiers where Lion Warriors earned an early spot in the final, beating Colombo Cubs comfortably.

In the Eliminator game Master Blasters, despite finishing off third after the league stage, got their act together to beat Universal Kings by 55 runs. The losers of the Qualifier, Colombo Cubs were up against Master Blasters in the Semi-Final but only to be were beaten by 43 runs. Colombo Cubs met the losers of the Eliminator Universal Kings and succeeded to record a 9-wicket win and pocket the Plate championship.

In the final Master Blasters took on Lion Warriors, and continued their newfound form to record a convincing 42-run win. Batting first, Master Blasters put up 192 for the loss of three wickets in 30 overs with Dulneth Agalawatte top scoring, with an unbeaten 83 off 95 deliveries. He also hit 12 boundaries to help his side put up a challenging total, while Thevindu Wewalla hit a quick 47 off 40 balls, inclusive of a boundary and four sixes.

The Lion Warriors tried their best to keep up with the pace but were eventually confined to 150 for the loss of eight wickets in their allotted 30 overs. Jason Fernando finished off as the top scorer for the losers, hitting 77 off 74 deliveries inclusive of 10 fours. Dunitha Sethnal and Tharusha Sandeep claimed two scalps apiece. Dulneth Alagewatte of the winning team was adjudged the player of the match.

Colombo Cubs romped to a convincing 9-wicket win against Universal Kings in the Third Place Playoff, and claim the Plate championship in a

game that was confined to 25 overs per side. Batting first, Universal Kings put on 164 for the loss of five wickets with Rehan Peiris standing out with the bat. He slammed 75 off 65 deliveries, while hitting 10 fours and a six. Colombo Cubs dominated the run-chase after opener Bihandu Seneviratne laid the foundation with a blistering knock of 88, which came off 68 deliveries with eight fours and six sixes. Santhul Wijeratne remained unbeaten on 57 after facing 67 balls and hitting six fours and two sixes, when Colombo Cubs reached the target with eight deliveries to spare. Bihandu Seneviratne was named the player of the match.

Master Blasters, who won 10 out of a total of 11 games, booked their berth in the final when they overcame Colombo Cubs in the Semi-final by 43 runs. Electing to bat first,

Master Blasters put up 165 runs for the loss of five wickets in 30 overs with Chanul Athale hitting a well deserved 94. He faced 97 deliveries while hitting 12 fours and two sixes. Colombo Cubs were bowled out for 122 with four overs remaining, after Thevindu Wewalla and Tharusha Sandeep bagged three wickets each.

Earlier on in the Eliminator, Master Blasters thumped Universal Kings by 55 runs in a low-scoring affair. Batting first, Master Blasters were bowled out for 112 runs but with a superlative combined bowling display by Dunitha Sethnal, Akith Jarudika and Sadev Wijesekara, Universal Kings were skittled out for 57 runs with well over 15 overs remaining.

Lion Warriors became the team to conveniently reach the final, skipping the while eliminator process, when they overcame Colombo Cubs by 8 wickets in the Qualifier. Colombo Cubs elected to bat first and posted 177 for the loss of nine wickets despite Bihandu Seneviratne becoming the top scorer with 33. Surprisingly indecent bowling by Lion Warriors gave away their opponents 57 runs with 45 of them being wide balls. With a huge task of making up to their bowling woes, Sandaru Meedum and Ahmed Afzal stood up to the situation to take their team towards the winning post with 25 deliveries remaining. Meedum top scored with 62 runs after facing 58 deliveries and hitting six fours and a six. Afzal remained unbeaten on 54 off 75 deliveries while hitting a boundary during his patient knock.

Each team played had to complete a double header, to complete eight matches in the league stage. Colombo Cubs led the table followed by Lion Warriors after the initial stage. Both teams finished with six wins and two losses but Colombo Cubs finished on top with a better nett run rate. Master Blasters won five games and lost three from eight games, while Universal Kings won three and lost five in eight outings. Dynamic Spartans lost all their eight league games.

Rehan Peiris, the opener of Universal Kings, won the Orange Cap presented for the batsman who scored most runs of the competition, after finishing off with a tally of 475 runs. Sandaru Meedum of Lion Warriors finished second in the list with 371 runs followed by Colombo Cubs pair Bihandu Seneviratne (346) and Santhul Wijeratne (286). Master

Blasters’ Chanul Athale was fifth in the list with 266 runs.

The Purple Cap presented for the bowler with most wickets was claimed by Sadev Indeepa of Master Blasters. He completed the tournament with a tally of 21 scalps, well ahead of Santhul Wijeratne of Colombo Cubs, who claimed14 wickets. Thevindu Wewalla of Master Blasters finished third in the list with 12 wickets while Sandul Abeywardena of Lion Warriors and Kithma Sithmal of Colombo Cubs finished behind at fourth and fifth respectively with 11 wickets each.

Lasal Perera of Colombo Cubs completed the tournament as the player with most number of catches, 10. Jason Fernando of Lion Warriors claimed nine catches while Meshon Ferdinandes of Dynamic Spartans and Master Blasters’ Thevindu Wewalla and Akith Jarudika had taken eight catches each.

Sandaru Mihidum of Lion Warriors and Tharusha Sandeepa of Master Blasters were the only batsmen to score centuries during the two-week long tournament. Master Blasters’ Tharusha Sandeep, Thaviru Perera, Thenindu Wewalla and Dulneth Agalawatte were among the batsmen who scored 50s alongside

Anuhas Fernando, Jason Fernando and Ahmed Afzal of Lion Warriors and Shenon Wijeratne of Dynamic Spartans.

Rehan Peiris of Universal Kings was the batsman with most number of fours. He had hit 54 of them during the whole tournament. Colombo Cubs top order batsman Bihandu Seneviratne hit 10 sixes. The captains of the teams were Akith Jarudika (Master Blasters), Thivan Shivashankar (Lion Warriors), Santhul Wijeratne (Colombo Cubs), Binara Induwara (Universal Kings) and Dimath Sudarshan (Dynamic Spartans).

The tournament was organised and conducted by the Sanath Jayasuriya Cricket Academy with the intention of facilitating pathways to engage young cricketers who are talented and passionate about cricket, and gain exposure and experience to play at competitive tournaments.