OTD 1998 Galle hosted its first-ever Test
Galle International Cricket Stadium has been a happy hunting ground for Sri Lanka for so many years and they have many fond cricketing memories at that venue.
However, it was on this very day in 1998 that Galle hosted its very first red-ball match. The Lankans had already established themselves in world cricket back then having won their first and only World Cup two years earlier under a gutsy captain Arjuna Ranatunga.
Without further ado, here’s a look at how Ranatunga & Co. fared in their maiden Test appearance at the venue.
When Sri Lanka handed an innings defeat to New Zealand
Sri Lanka hosted New Zealand in the second Test match at Galle. The Kiwis were coming into this contest riding high on an emphatic 167-run win in the series opener at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The coin landed in the favour of the visiting skipper Stephen Fleming’s favour and he elected to bat first. However, the strategy backfired completely as the Black Caps were bundled out for just 193 in their first innings with the then batting superstar Nathan Astle being the sole half-centurion for the visitors scoring 53.
The Lankans in reply scored a massive total of 323 with Mahela Jayawardene top-scoring with 167 as he was the lone warrior for the hosts with the rest of the batting line-up not coming up with anything exceptional. The Kiwis had a daunting task of saving the Test with a heavy deficit of 130 runs and also the additional responsibility of setting a decent target for Sri Lanka,
Unfortunately for the visitors, that was not to be as the Stephen Fleming-led side was skittled out for a paltry 114 with wicketkeeper-batter Adam Parore top-scoring with an unbeaten 32. Niroshan Bandaratilleke shone for the hosts with an outstanding fifer as he finished with 5/36. He was ably supported by Muttiah Muralitharan who took 3/24. Thus, Sri Lanka came out on top in the series opener with a comprehensive win by an innings and 116 runs. Future batting megastar and captain Jayawardene was adjudged the Player of the Match for his magnificent century, which eventually turned out to be a match-winning one. The Lankans won the next game at Colombo by 164 runs to win the series 2-1.
