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Watch: Murali’s son, Naren Muralidaran, lofts six, drives sumptuously in high-level Sri Lankan schools hundred

by Michael Rudling 3 minute read

Watch: Murali’s son Naren Muralidaran lofted a glorious six over mid-off on his way to an emphatic hundred in Sri Lanka’s U19 Inter Schools Cricket Tournament.

It came as St Joseph’s College, a school known for its cricketing pedigree after producing international players such as Angelo Matthews, Dimuth Karunaratne and Chaminda Vaas, took on Ananda College in a traditional game between the two schools.

The knock came in a two-day game in Colombo at the highest level of Sri Lankan youth cricket, in Tier A of the U19 set up, as St Joesph’s declared after  just 70 overs on 376-5.

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The game was streamed live and saw the 16-year-old score 131 not out off 171 balls in an innings that looked classy and compact, the highlights being a lofted drive over mid-off for six and a well-timed cover drive that ran away for four.

There were also some flamboyant flays through the off-side, organised-looking sweeps and an authoritative flick through mid-wicket from down the pitch.

It is a knock that will surely bring talk of a cricketing dynasty after his father Muttiah Muralidaran took over 1,300 international wickets for Sri Lanka in a 19-year career.

Mualidaran junior has attracted attention for his batting before after notching 162* in an U15 tournament in 2019, and some observers compared his bowling action to his famous Dad after seeing him in the nets in 2021.

Murali’s former school, St Anthony’s College, are also competing in the U19 tournament. They play a grudge match against St John’s every year for the Vaas-Muralitharan trophy, so named after the two college’s respective alumni.

Interestingly, Narem Muralidaran represents the Vaas side of the rivalry rather than his father’s old school.

Watch as Murali’s son hits an U19 century:

Murali’s bowling action compared to his son:

 

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