Mihindi Sanudini an outstanding sportswoman

Eighteen year old cricketer, player of the All Island under 19 Division Two Girls Finals 2019/20. Most Popular Women Cricketer nominated by batsman.com 2019/20 and member of the under 19 Western Province Women’s Cricket Pool, athlete, handball, volleyball and elle player and right hand opening bats woman and right arm off spinner and safe fielder in any position Wijesekera Arachchige Mihindi Samudini has brought honour and immense glory to her Alma Mater Princess of Wales’ College, Moratuwa.

Mihindi who hails from Willorawatte, Moratuwa a cricket crazy town was born on 9th December 2003 and she was admitted to this prestigious school in 2009 when Mrs. Nirmala Wijethilake who was a distinguished old girl of this school was at the helm of the school and her first class teacher was Mrs. Priyanka. From Grade One to Four Mihindi did not do any sport but following her father’s foot steps who was a top notched athlete during his hey day and a Sub Inspector of the newly installed Kesbewa Police Station W. A. Udaya Pushpakumara and her mother Surani Pradeepa encouraged their daughter to take up to athletics and in 2013 she took part in 100 metres and hurdles at the Inter House Sports Meet she swept the board. and when she was in Grade Six she participated for the relay team at the John Tarbet Athletic Meet held at Mahaweli Grounds Embilipitiya. But her team could not come up to expectations and she did not want to proceed more and in the meantime their parents encouraged their daughter to commence cricket and they handed her over to the Physical Training Instructress Mrs. Thilinika Medawala and she came under the school cricket coach Mrs. Hiruka Fernando and after hard and strenuous regular practices they won the Divisional and Zonal tournaments but in the Provincial Tournament they were un successful.

Then in 2018 under 15 practices she was selected to the first eleven team in 2019/20 and playing in the All Island Girls Under 19 Tournament they emerged as the Division Two Singer Champions by beating Kegalu Vidyalaya and she was adjudged as the Player of the Finals and she scored 38 runs and claimed 2 wickets. Her top score was and unbeaten 84 runs against Tholangamuwa Central and in another match she captured six for 20 with one five wicket haul. She was nominated by the batsman.com as the 2019/20 Most Popular Cricketer and she was one of the members out of four from her school for the Airtel Advertisement and her school was named as the 2019/20 up and coming team for the year and with all these performances under her belt she was selected for the Western Province under 19 Girls School and presently she is under going training at the Cricket Academy of former Cambrian and Maldives National Coach Nilantha Cooray with the assistance of Rajeewa Krishan. In this context her Principal Mrs. Malani Samarakoon who was instrumental to commence cricket at school, the Master in Charge of Cricket Piyuminda Gunawardenne, her teachers and parents helped her in numerous ways to come up the ladder. In the mean time there was a request to her from Chilaw Marians to represent them in the Women Premier Tournament and it was postponed due to Covid 19. They were promoted to Division One in 2020/21 and they had four outings and they won three matches and she bagged 10 wickets to come up to the Quarter Finals but that tournament too was postponed due to Covid.