The women who lit up the Major Club tournament
ThePapareNews article
Baduraliya SC were crowned champions of the Major Club limited-overs women's cricket tournament organised by Sri Lanka Cricket, while Panadura SC finished as runners-up.
The tournament featured 10 teams across two groups. Panadura SC and Army SC claimed the top two places in Group A, while Baduraliya SC and Air Force SC took the top two spots in Group B to qualify for the semi-finals.
In the semi-finals, Panadura SC defeated Air Force SC by 3 wickets, while Baduraliya SC beat Army SC by 14 runs to qualify for the final.
Across the tournament's 23 matches, the players scored 6173 runs for the loss of 350 wickets. Those performances included three centuries and 16 half-centuries, while 5 hauls of at least 5 wickets were also recorded.
Major Club women's title goes to Baduraliya
Vishmi scores a century as Shehara claims 7 wickets
Player of the Final and Best Bowler of the Tournament – Shehara Induwari (Baduraliya SC)
Off-spinner Shehara Induwari was named the tournament's best bowler after taking 17 wickets in 4 matches, including the final. She finished the tournament as the 2nd-highest wicket-taker.
She was also named Player of the Match in the final after leaving the opposition in disarray with figures of 6 wickets for 25 runs.
Her best bowling performance of the tournament came against Ace Capital CC, when she took 7 wickets for 10 runs from 6.5 overs, including two maidens. She also claimed a hat-trick and took another wicket in the same over, completing the exceptional feat of taking 4 wickets in an over.
Shehara Induwari, who entered the cricketing arena through Devapathiraja College, Rathgama, is still only 18 years old and has also represented the Sri Lanka Under-19 team.
The tournament's 5 leading wicket-takers
Player Team M Over Runs W Best 4w 5w
1 Malki Madara Air Force SC 5 39.5 107 18 6/20 2 1
2 Shehara Induwari Baduraliya SC 4 30.5 97 17 7/10 0 2
3 Sandani de Silva Army SC 5 44.0 129 10 3/33 0 0
4 Kavisha Dilhari Baduraliya SC 4 28.0 59 9 4/24 1 0
5 Inoka Ranaweera Navy SC 4 34.0 128 9 3/34 0 0
In addition to the 5 players on the list, two other bowlers also finished level with 9 wickets apiece: Panadura SC's Devagi Jeganathan and her teammate Pramudi Methsara.
Nilakshika scores her 2nd successive half-century
Nilakshika scores the tournament's maiden century
Best Batter of the Tournament – Nilakshika Silva (Panadura SC)
Nilakshika Silva, who represented Panadura SC and is regarded as a dependable batter for Sri Lanka, was named the tournament's best batter.
She finished the tournament with 266 runs from 4 innings in 4 matches. Her tally included an unbeaten 120 against Colts CC from 90 balls, with 12 fours and 2 sixes; an unbeaten 78 against Navy SC from 89 balls, with 7 fours; and 58 against CCC from 53 balls, with 6 fours and a six.
Those substantial innings also helped her maintain an average of 133.0 in the tournament.
She also joined Vishmi Gunaratne as the player with the most sixes (3) in the tournament and shared the lead for the most fours (26) with Vishmi Gunaratne and Sumudu Nisansala.
She also finished joint-top among the batters with the most half-centuries in the tournament. She scored two half-centuries, while Navy SC's Harshika Samarawickrama and Baduraliya CC's Sumudu Nisansala also made two apiece.
The tournament's 5 leading run-scorers
Player Team M In NO Runs Ave HS 100 50
1 Nilakshika Silva Panadura SC 4 4 2 266 133.0 120* 1 2
2 Sumudu Nisansala Baduraliya CC 6 6 2 219 54.75 77 0 2
3 Vishmi Gunaratne CCC 3 3 0 216 72.0 132 1 1
4 Harshitha Samarawickrama Navy SC 4 4 1 187 62.33 87 0 2
5 Imalka Mendis Army SC 5 5 1 153 38.25 48* 0 0
Among the tournament's leading batters, CCC's Vishmi Gunaratne claimed the honour of recording its best innings. She scored 132 against Navy SC from 142 balls, with 15 fours and 3 sixes.
Kavisha Dilhari of Baduraliya CC also joined the tournament's list of centurions, achieving the feat against ACE Capital CC.
She struck an unbeaten 102 from 85 balls, with 11 fours.
Baduraliya CC's Imesha Dulani was the only player in the tournament to fall one run short of a century. She was dismissed for 99 against Chilaw Marian CC after facing 77 balls and hitting 15 fours.
Vishmi scores a century as Shehara claims 7 wickets
Imesha and Malki emerge as the day's standout players
Most Valuable Player of the Tournament – Malki Madara (Air Force SC)
Air Force SC's Malki Madara, the tournament's Most Valuable Player, was also its leading wicket-taker. She claimed 18 wickets in the 5 matches she played, recording one haul of more than 5 wickets in an innings and two hauls of more than 4 wickets.
The right-arm medium-pacer recorded her best bowling figures in an innings in the tournament by taking 6 wickets for 20 runs against SSC.
She also took 4 wickets for 14 runs against Chilaw Marian CC and 4 wickets for 36 runs against Panadura SC.
As a batter, she scored only 55 runs in 4 innings, with a highest score of 24.
Malki Madara has also represented the Sri Lanka women's cricket team.
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Notable tournament milestones
318 : Baduraliya CC recorded the tournament's highest innings total, achieving the feat against Chilaw Marian CC at the Surrey Cricket Ground in Maggona.
49 : Colts CC recorded the tournament's lowest team total. Their unfortunate innings came against Navy SC at the Navy Grounds in Welisara.
476 : CCC and Panadura SC recorded the highest match aggregate in the tournament. In the match at the Panadura Public Ground, CCC scored 237 for the loss of 8 wickets, while Panadura SC made 239 for the loss of 6 wickets.
244 Runs : Baduraliya CC recorded the tournament's largest victory by runs, achieving the feat against Chilaw Marian CC at the Surrey Cricket Ground in Maggona.
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Based on ThePapare reporting