Sri Lankan cricket team shined across the globe once. Behind success the team, many players individually exhibited outstanding performances both in batting and bowling.
Sri Lankan cricketers including Sanath Jayasuriya, Chminda Vaas, Muthiah Muralidaran or Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were all the pride of the country. But behind all their success there were two faces that Sri Lankan cricket can never forget- Arunda de Silva whose excellent batting led Sri Lanka to win many matches, gave them the courage to keep their heads high in difficult times and Arjuna Ranatunga whose leadership alone is enough to count his services to Sri Lankan cricket- The 96-wicket victory in World Cup was the destination behind which Arjuna and Arunda’s years of hard work were hidden- Imagine that the reward for so many years of hard work is that when your team is very close to victory, you get the opportunity to play the winning shot-
In the first five World Cup finals, the team batting first kept winning but Ranatunga won the toss in the sixth World Cup final and decided to field first and then proved this decision right along with his team- Ranatunga does not just make the right decisions. He was a great player, but he would stand up for his players in front of anyone.
On the Australian field, when Murali’s ball was repeatedly declared a no-ball, it was Arjuna Ranatunga who took the team out in protest. If you look at Arjuna Ranatunga’s batting records, you might find them very modest. Arjuna was not a very good batsman, but he was a good batsman, an excellent captain and a top team leader. Arjuna Ranatunga participated in the first Test for Sri Lanka, scored his first half-century, and took Sri Lanka out of trouble many times.
Early in his career, Arjuna was also a good slow-medium pace bowler and continued to bowl very well in ODI cricket. I can never forget that innings of Arjuna Ranatunga in the Test match against Pakistan when it was difficult to hold the bat after the injury, but Ranatunga not only came to bat but also returned after winning the match.
It was 2000 when Arjuna was no longer the captain. Sri Lanka had been given a target of 220 runs to win and Arjuna had to retire hurt and go to the pavilion on the score of 8. Sri Lanka’s score was 146/5. Three more wickets fell at 177, so Arjuna had to return to support Ramesh Kaluwatthana. Arjuna’s condition was such that it was difficult for him to hold the bat. With every ball, it seemed that he was going to go, but when he really went, he was not out after scoring 29 runs off 94 balls and the Sri Lankan team had won the match by two wickets.
