Sri Lanka, March 1 -- Dinada Athalage (52*) and Nethula Edirimanne (49) played crucial knocks as Ananda College reached 154/3 at stumps on the rain-hit opening day of the 95th Battle of the Maroons against Nalanda College at SSC Grounds yesterday.

It was a rain-interrupted first day, limiting Ananda's first innings to just 47 overs. The interruptions prevented the batsmen from maintaining their momentum.

Ananda College, invited to bat first, had a shaky start as openers Danindu Sellapperuma and Nethula Edirimanne struggled to find their rhythm. Paceman Osanda Pamuditha struck early, dismissing Sellapperuma for a duck with the third ball of the first over. However, Edirimanne and Dinada Athalage steadied the innings, guiding Ananda to 86...