Birthday special: Aravinda de Silva – Top 3 performances in international cricket
Sri Lanka’s Aravinda de Silva would often catch the eye of the viewers due to his short stature, but the diminutive Sri Lankan was not short on talent. A gifted strokemaker, Silva was known for his incredible panache and valour. He guided the islander to numerous famous victories, none more so than the one with his iconic century in the 1996 World Cup final to gift his country their maiden ICC title. Although he fared better in the traditional format of the game, Silva’s 9284 runs, along with 106 wickets in the shorter format made him an invaluable asset to the team. On the occasion of his birthday, here are his top performances in the sport:
4/30 against England, 2003
The 8th match of the 2002-2003 VB series saw Sydney host England and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka won the toss and batted first on a seemingly flat track. Marvan Atapattu was dismissed for a six-ball duck, but his opening partner Sanath Jayasuriya took the attack to the English bowlers. He was complimented well by a combative half-century from Aravinda de Silva, which took Sri Lanka’s tally to 284 runs. England started strongly in their pursuit of the target, but Nasser Hussain’s dismissal triggered a middle-order collapse. Silva bagged a career-best 4/30 to hand Sri Lanka an unlikely victory in the match.
267 against New Zealand, 1991
Sri Lanka travelled to Wellington for the first Test against New Zealand. The visitors won the toss and put the Kiwis to bat first in the series opener. New Zealand was restricted to a below par total of 174 runs in their first innings. Sri Lanka in their reply struggled initially before Aravinda de Silva changed the complexion of the game with a rip-roaring double century. His 267 helped Sri Lanka to an indomitable total of 497 runs. Martin Crowe came up with a trailblazing double century of his own as the match fizzled out in a draw.
107 against Australia, 1996
Aravinda de Silva had played several more prolific innings than this, but none more significant. Sri Lanka squared off against tournament favourites Australia in the 1996 World Cup final and opted to field first after winning the toss. The islander restricted a strong Australian unit to a par total of 241 runs thanks to a three-wicket haul from Silva. Sri Lanka in pursuit of a maiden World Cup title lost Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana cheaply. But Aravinda de Silva put his hands up yet again, compiling a sensational ton to guide the Islanders to their maiden triumph in the competition.
