• The golden mark in the history of school cricket 

The Battle of the Golds, the annual cricket encounter between D. S. Senanayake College and Mahanama College, continues to stand as a notable fixture in Sri Lankan school cricket.

First played in 2006, the encounter marks its 20th edition this year. Since its inception, the Battle of the Golds rivalry has been conducted as a two-day match.

The first victory for D. S. Senanayake College in the series was secured 12 years ago under the leadership of Binura Fernando.

From then on till last year, the match has mostly ended without a decisive result, with the coveted trophy still retained by D. S. Senanayake College.

The first-ever double century in the Battle of the Golds was posted by D. S. Senanayake College cricket captain Gaviru Senehas, marking a historic milestone.

Meanwhile, Malith Maduranga from Mahanama College emerged as the first player to reach 1000 runs in the series.

Notably, for the 20th Battle of the Golds, Mahanama College players Dulnith Sigera and Chamika Heenatigala shall represent the national under-19 cricket team.

In a diversion of tradition, Battle of the Golds was organised as a three-day clash commencing in 2025. Furthermore, in the one-day encounters played for the Aravinda de Silva Challenge Trophy between the two schools. Mahanama College has won 12 matches, while D. S. has won four games.

Mahanama College has achieved an impressive streak of eight successive victories in these limited-overs games.

In 2025, Mahanama College also lifted the first-ever K. N. P. de Silva Memorial Trophy – in the T20 cricket encounter.

The cricket captains Randisha Bandaranayake from D. S. Senanayake College and Dulnith Sigera of Mahanama College will lead their respective sides into a pitched battle in the 20th Battle of the Golds.

A noticeable feature this year is that both teams belong to the top Tier 1 (A Division) of the domestic school cricket arena.

The three-day encounter will be held from 8-10 May at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Grounds in Colombo.

The limited-overs encounter is slated for 17 May also at the same venue, while the K. N. P. de Silva Memorial Trophy T20 encounter is scheduled for 22 May at Maitland Crescent (CCC) Grounds in Colombo.