Mano Ponniah attended S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, before studying engineering at the University of Ceylon.

[2] He toured India with Ceylon in 1964-65, playing in seven of the eight first-class matches and scoring 325 runs at an average of 25.00.

[4] His highest score in 1967 was 98 not out against Middlesex, when he opened the innings and added 194 for the second wicket with Roger Knight.

[6] In 1968, Cambridge won no matches, and "despite a rather limited range of strokes"[7] Ponniah scored their only century.

[8] In his last match, against Oxford University in 1969, he made 27 and 50 not out, sharing an unbroken third-wicket partnership of 123 in 92 minutes with Knight.