Cricket is probably the unofficial national sport of Sri Lanka. Although the official national sport is volleyball, cricket is by far the most widely followed sport in the country. From young to old, and rich to poor almost everyone loves cricket. Cricket, which was introduced to Sri Lanka by the English colonizers in the 19th century, has climbed its way up surpassing all other sports in the country to gain international recognition. With unofficial test matches and their increasing exposure to powerful teams, Sri Lanka improved day by day, but was still away from being accepted as a ‘Test Nation’ in the 70s. It was pioneers such as late Gamini Dissanayake who stood up for the progress of Sri Lanka cricket by working hard to gain the recognition of the International Cricket Council (ICC). His efforts bore fruits when the ICC finally granted full ‘test status’ to the Sri Lankan Team in July 1981. They played their first official test match against England in February 1982 at the Oval (Now, P. Saravanamuttu Stadium) in Colombo.
Ten years from then, the team showed a big improvement by winning two matches at the 1992 World Cup. The mid 90s was undeniably the most prosperous era for Sri Lankan Cricket. For the first time Sri Lanka had co-hosted a World Cup together with India and Pakistan in 1996. For the first time Sri Lanka had qualified for the
Semi Finals by topping the Group. At the Eden Gardens in Calcutta, Sri Lanka were 1 for two wickets down and 35 for 3, when Aravinda de Silva rejuvenated the innings by smashing a 66 in 47 balls with strong support from Roshan Mahanama who hit 58. Chasing Sri Lanka’s total of 251, India collapsed at 120 for 8 when the Indian crowd began hitting the ground with bottles and cans. Unable to control the attacks, match referee Clive Lloyd awarded the game to Sri Lanka by default, and Sri Lanka for the first time in history advanced to the finals. Sri Lanka met the powerful Australians in the finals at the Gadaffi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan on the 17th of March 1996.
Having already won one of the previous World Cups (1987), and having defeated Sri Lanka plenty of
times, the Australian team led by Mark Taylor were oozing with confidence. On the other hand the brave Sri Lankans coached by former Australian cricketer, Dav Whatmore and led by the charismatic and determined Arjuna Ranatunga did not look any nervous either. Although Sri Lanka won the toss and everyone expected them to bat first and pose a challenging total, as always Ranatunga decided to do the chase game, by requesting the Australians to bat first. The excellence of the Sri Lankan bowlers and fielders managed to limit the Australian team to 241 for seven. While chasing this target both the openers fell for a mere 23 and it was De Silva’s unbeaten 107 with steady assistance from Asanka Gurusinghe (66) and Ranatunga (47 in 37 balls) from the other end that steered Sri Lanka to their first ever victory (7-wicket victory) in a World Cup Final. With this victory, Sri Lanka joined the other South Asian Test Nations ( India and Pakistan) who had each registered a World Cup win. Undoubtedly, this remarkable feat will be remembered by generations to come as Sri Lanka’s brightest moment in cricket history, until equalled by a similar feat in the future.
1996 World Cup Winning Squad (Final) :
Captain – Arjuna Ranatunga VC – Aravinda De Silva
Wicketkeeper – Romesh Kaluwitharana
Sanath Jayasuriya, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Asanka Gurusinghe, Aravinda de Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga, Hashan Tillakaratne, Roshan Mahanama, Kumar Dharmasena, Chaminda Vaas, Pramodya Wickramasinghe, Muttiah Muralitharan
Sri Lanka, who were viewed as ‘minnows’ prior to this World Cup, were now viewed as a World Class team who could challenge any powerful team on the field. This victory not only came as an upset to the Australians but also the entire cricketing network.
The second success in World Cup history for Sri Lanka was when it qualified for the Semi Finals in 2003 at South Africa.
Soon after, in the World Cup 2007, Sri Lanka continued its excellence from preliminary round to super eight to Semi Final, by booking a place in the Finals. Once again, they met their 1996 rivals, Australia at Barbados, West Indies with the hope of a upset win. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka could not bag the World Cup this time, but they tried their best, even when everything came against them that day. The foul weather, the shortened game (38 overs), bad light (darkness) and not to forget, bad umpiring decisions took Sri Lanka away from, what could have otherwise been an incredible victory and the team lead by the intelligent and always admirable Mahela Jayawardene ended up as worthy runners up in the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup.
2007 World Cup Runners Up Squad (Final) :
Captain – Mahela Jayawardene
VC/ Wicketkeeper – Kumar Sangakkara
Upul Tharanga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Chamara Silva, Tillekaratne Dilshan, Russel Arnold, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan
Sri Lanka also tasted success in the Twenty20 format, excelling in the World Twenty 2009 held in England. Placed in the toughest preliminary group, SL defied all odds to beat both Australia and West Indies convincingly to march in to the Super 8s. In the Super 8’s too, they continued the 100 percent winning run by achieving victories against Pakistan, Ireland and New Zealand. In the Semi Finals with West Indies, Tillakaratne Dilshan played a memorable innings of 96 to guide the team to the Finals against Pakistan. Although, the team failed to overpower Pakistan, they played a hard fought game of cricket and finally ended up as the World Twenty Runners up (2009), in a format that appeared so novel to many of the players two years ago.
2009 World Twenty 20 Runners Up Squad (Final) :
Captain/Wicketkeeper – Kumar Sangakkara
VC – Muttiah Muralitharan
Tillekaratne Dilshan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Chamara Silva, Jehan Mubarak, Angelo Mathews, Isuru Udana, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Muttiah Muralitharan
Above all, the Sri Lankans have gained a lot of praise for their outstanding behaviour on and off the field, enthusiasm for the sport and method of approach, from legends of the game, and cricket fans around the globe. This team has shown the world that it is not winning or losing that matters, but “how one played the game.”
For such a small country, from making their Test debut in 1982, the Sri Lankans have gained a pile of successes.
From the wonderful smiles on the faces of the players on the field to the capabilities they hold, Sri Lanka will take every game they play as a crucial one to do their best, an opportunity to gain experience and an occasion to sparkle the tiny island nation’s name on the world map.
~~~ Lanka Cricket ~~~
East or West Sri Lanka is the best.
And the Lankan Lion, Sanath Jayasuriya, is the Kohinoor Diamond of world cricket. And, modesty personified.
Sanath Jayasuriya, may his tribe increase.
Lanka lover, Chennai (INDIA)
🙂
GOO LANKA!!
CHAMARA KAPUGEDERA IS THE BEST!! (AND THE REST AS WELL LOL 🙂 )
WISH ALL THE LANKANZ GOOD LUCK IN THE A.C
HOPE THEY WIN AGAINST INDIA
!!
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