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Battle of the Golds

Countries	Sri Lanka
Format	Test and One-Day
First edition	1934
Latest edition	2024
Next edition	2025
Number of teams	Sri Sumangala College Moratu Maha Vidyalaya
Current trophy holder	Drawn (Test) Sri Sumangala College (One-Day)
Most successful	Sri Sumangala College (8 wins - Test) Sri Sumangala College (16 wins - One-Day)
Most runs	153 by Roshan Wimalasena in 1996 - Sri Sumangala College (Test)
Most wickets	8 wickets by Iresh Pushpakumara in 2007 - Sri Sumangala College (Test)
TV	Dialog TV, PeoTv
Website	ThePapare.com,Batsman.com
72nd Battle of the Golds

Battle of the Golds (Also known as Sri Sumangala College - Moratu Maha Vidyalaya Cricket Encounter) is an annual Big Match played between Sri Sumangala College and Moratu Maha Vidyalaya since 1934. It is known as The Battle of the Golds due to the colours of the two schools' flags i.e. Green, Gold and Blue of Sri Sumangala College and Maroon, Gold & Maroon of Moratu Maha Vidyalaya.

History

The first encounter between the two schools dates back to 1934. The first match in the sequence was played in 1934 under the captain, W. Lionel Fernando of Sri Sumangala College and H. N. Samarasinghe of Moratu Maha Vidyalaya. The first victory for Sumangalians was in 1962 under the Captaincy of P. P. Silva while the first victory for Moraliyans was in 1956 under the Captaincy of T. Hapugoda. Of the 72 big matches played between the two schools until 2024, Sumangalians has won 08 and Moraliyans 07, with the rest being declared draw.

The first victory for Sumangalians was in 1962 under the captaincy of S. Sigera while the first victory for Moraliyans was in 1956 under the captaincy of T. Hapugoda.

The last time Sri Sumangala College won the Battle of the Golds was in 2007 under the captaincy of Iresh Pushpakumara and for Moratu Maha Vidyalaya it was in 2010 under the captaincy of Anuruddhika Kalhara.

Among the many successes of Sri Sumangala College, Iresh Pushpakumara’s 08 wickets in an inning in 2007 big match is the best bowling figure so far in the history and Roshan Wimalasena’s 153 in 1996 in the highest score in the history. In 1981 big match Ravin Wickramaratne set another record by scoring an unbeaten 104 runs and taking 5 wickets with a hat trick. Interestingly, Wickramarathna has also been elected as the Vice President of Sri Lanka Cricket in the recent past, from his previous tenure as Assistant Secretary. A few other victories for Sumangalians include 1975 Captain Tissa Eleperuma representing Ceylon Team before the test status was granted, 1983 Captain Don Anurasiri being the first Sumangalian to present Sri Lanka's test cricket team, who was subsequently followed by 1995 Captain Indika Gallage and 2001 Captain Dilruwan Perera. In 2023, 2023 captain Vishwa Lahiru was selected to represent the Sri Lanka U19 National Team and in 2024 in the U19 World Cup.

A few other remarkable cricketers in the local playing field who began their cricketing career at Sri Sumangala include, Kaushal Silva before playing for St Thomas's College; Kithuruwan Vithanage before joining Royal College, Colombo and U13 and U15 Captain Oshada Fernando before joining St Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa. While Kithruwan Vithanage earned his spot in the Sri Lanka team from 2013-2016, Kaushal Silva and Oshada Fernando are still a part of the Sri Lankan team.

Moratu Maha Vidyala holds the unique record of becoming the one and only school in Sri Lanka which has produced national cricketers both in men's and women's categories. Sarath Fernando and Bernard Perera of Moratu Maha Vidyalaya represented the nation before Sri Lanka obtained the test status.

Ajantha Mendis from Moratu Maha Vidyalaya who reintroduced mystery to spin bowling was the first test player to represent Sri Lanka followed by Nishan Madushka. Further, former Sri Lankan player, Hasantha Fernando played up to under 15 in Moratu Maha Vidyalaya and Lucky Roger represented the Sri Lankan under-19 team in 1988. Inoshi Fernando and Upeksha Thabrew represented the nation in women's cricket who are old girls of Moratu Maha Vidyalaya.

The one day encounters, which began 28 years ago in 1993, have resulted in 16 victories for Sumangalians, 12 for Moraliyans, 02 matches where no decision was taken and a match not played in 2001 and 2021 (Due to COVID).

Past Results

Big Matches

Results of the Big Matches

• Matches Played - 72
• Matches Drawn - 57
• Matches Won by Sri Sumangala College - 08
• Matches Won by Moratu Maha Vidyalaya - 07

Records

Result Table

Limited Over matches

Results of the Limited Over matches

• Matches Played - 31
• Matches Won by Sri Sumangala College - 16
• Matches Won by Moratu Maha Vidyalaya - 11
• Matches with No Decision - 02
• Matches Not Played - 02

Records

Result Table

Captains of Series

Batting and Bowling Records

Sri Sumangala College Team

Batting and Bowling Records by Sri Sumangala College team's Players in big matches.

Moratu Maha Vidyalaya Team

Batting and Bowling Records by Moratu Maha Vidyalaya team's Players in big matches.

Family Members Who Played In The Series

Brothers In The Series

Sri Sumangala College

Brothers who played for the Sri Sumangala College

Asitha Rathnaweera Kalum Rathnaweera 1993/1994

Fathers & Sons In The Series

Sri Sumangala College

Fathers & Sons who played for the Sri Sumangala College

Venues

• De Soysa Stadium, Moratuwa (formerly known as Tyronne Fernando Stadium)
• Panadura Esplanade (Home ground of the Panadura Sports Club)

Noted

• Students of Sri Sumangala College are known as Sumangalians
• Students of Moratu Maha Vidyalaya are known as Moraliyans

References

1. "The cricketing tale of two cities". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 17 March 2019.
2. ^ Sumangalian Cricket Souvenir (BOG 67th Encounter). The Past Cricketers' Association of Sri Sumangala College. 2019.
3. ^ Moratu Maha Vidyalaya Cricket Souvenir (BOG 67th Encounter). Old Moratu Vidyalians' Sports Club. 2019.
4. "Two VPs, Secretary elected to SLC: Ranatungas stumped". Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 21 February 2019.
5. "Don Arunasiri: Controversial left arm orthordox spinner". Cricket Crowd Ltd.
6. ^ "Moratu Vidyalaya fancied against Sri Sumangala in 60th encounter". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka). 11 March 2012.
7. "Iresh Pushpakumara dies aged 21". ESPN Cricinfo. 6 November 2008.
8. "Moratu Vidyalaya ends 39-year jinx". The Nation. 21 March 2010.
9. "Sujeewa and Janitha put Moratu MV on top". Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 19 March 2010.
10. "The 66th Moratu-Sumangala cricket encounter to kick off on 16th March". The Papare. 13 March 2018.
11. "Sri Sumangala hold upper hand". Ceylon Today. 23 March 2019.
12. "Moratu-Sri Sumangala drawn". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka). 24 March 2019.
13. "68th Battle of the Golds ends in a nail-biting finish". The Papare. 7 March 2020.
14. "Sri Sumangala College takes honors as the 69th Battle of the Golds ends in a draw". The Papare. 29 December 2021.
15. "Sri Lanka Cricket Scorers". Sri Lanka Cricket Scorers' Association. 30 July 2022.
16. "මොරටුව සහ පානදුර මුහුණට මුහුණ ගැටෙන 71වන රන් සටනට වර්ෂාවෙන් බාධා". Batsman.com. 30 April 2023.
17. "Batters Dominate in the Drawn 72nd Battle of the Golds". ThePapare.com. 30 March 2023.
18. "Sri Sumangala beat Moratu Vidyalaya". Sports Info. 24 March 2015.
19. "ශ්‍රී සුමංගල විද්‍යාලයට ලකුණු 72 ක ජයක්". www.kelimandala.lk. 8 March 2020.
20. "Sri Lanka Cricket Scorers". Sri Lanka Cricket Scorers' Association. 31 July 2022.
21. "ThePapare.com". ThePapare.com. 30 April 2023.
22. "ThePapare.com". ThePapare.com. 1 April 2024.
23. "Sri Lanka News Round-up (18 Mar 1998)". ESPN Cricinfo. 19 March 1998.
24. ^ "Moratu Vidyalaya-Sri Sumangala clash in 68th Battle of the Golds". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 6 March 2019.

External links

• 2023 Big Matches at ThePapare.com
• Official Battle of the Golds Facebook Page
• Sri Sumangala College Official Website
• Moratu Maha Vidyalaya Official Website
• Official Website of the Old Boys' Association of Sri Sumangala College
• Official Facebook Page of the Past Cricketers' Association of Sri Sumangala College

• Big Matches
• Student sport in Sri Lanka
• Sri Lankan domestic cricket competitions
• Schools cricket matches
• Sri Lankan cricket in the 20th century
• Sri Lankan cricket in the 21st century