Dunith Wellalage, the Sri Lanka Under-19 captain, was the hero with the bat strking a compelling knock of 74 in lifting Jaffna from a not so good position to defeating Kandy by 37 runs in the finals of the SLC National Super League 50-Over Tournament yesterday.

The teenage prodigy squared his shoulders in taking on a threatening Kandy attack in carrying his side from 190 for six to 258 off 48.3 overs. It was a remarkable Player of the Match hurrah feat by the youngster who struck 5 fours and a six in his 87-ball knock in stopping Kandy’s charge spearheaded by pace bowler Asitha Fernando who returned the splendid figures of 5 for 44.

Kandy, minus the services of their in form wicket-keeper batsman Niroshan Dickwella, was dismissed for 221 in 45.5 overs with Nimanda Madushanka doing the damage with a 3 for 17 haul to cap a fine all-round performance having scored 35 off 50 balls with 2 fours.

The top scorer for Kandy was skipper Kamindu Mendis who made 46 off 73 with 4 boundaries. Theekshila de Silva 37 off 19 hitting 3 sixes and 2 fours followed by Sahana Arachchige 33 (57, 3×4), Kaveen Bandara 24, Oshada Fernando 22 and Sachindu Collombage 20. Pramod Madushanka was the highest wicket taker for Jaffna with figures of 4 for 59.

Meanwhile, the glitter in the tournament main Player of the Series was Jaffna Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva for a superb all-round performance. The tournament Best Batsman was Colombo’s Nuwanidu Fernando and Best Bowler Kandy’s Pulina Tharanga.