Aravinda de Silva v India, Kolkata 1996
Sri Lanka's famous World Cup victory is synonymous with their hammer-throwing openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana, but the feather touch of Aravinda de Silva was arguably of even greater importance. In the semi-final against India, Sri Lanka were 1 for 2 in the first over after both openers were caught at third man; enter the third match-winner, de Silva, surely to consolidate. Not a bit of it. Asanka Gurusinha fell soon after, but de Silva breezed to an exquisite 32-ball 50, pinging boundary after boundary through the cover ring. It was pinch-stroking of the highest order, with 14 fours in a 47-ball 66. At the time it seemed like a glorious cameo; as the game progressed, and every other batsman laboured on a slow pitch, it became a minor epic. With defeat looming later in the day, India's fans settled the match by rioting. But it was the quiet riot of de Silva that really decided it.
Sri Lanka's famous World Cup victory is synonymous with their hammer-throwing openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana, but the feather touch of Aravinda de Silva was arguably of even greater importance. In the semi-final against India, Sri Lanka were 1 for 2 in the first over after both openers were caught at third man; enter the third match-winner, de Silva, surely to consolidate. Not a bit of it. Asanka Gurusinha fell soon after, but de Silva breezed to an exquisite 32-ball 50, pinging boundary after boundary through the cover ring. It was pinch-stroking of the highest order, with 14 fours in a 47-ball 66. At the time it seemed like a glorious cameo; as the game progressed, and every other batsman laboured on a slow pitch, it became a minor epic. With defeat looming later in the day, India's fans settled the match by rioting. But it was the quiet riot of de Silva that really decided it.
