Aravinda De Silva
Born October 17, 1965 Aravinda Pinnaduwage De Silva has turned out to be the the finest batsman of our times. Earning his international baptism while still a schoolboy Aravinda made his Test debut at Lord's in August 1984, a few months after his one day debut. Since joining a team that had earned test spurs only in 1981, Arvinda has played no small part in taking Sri Lanka to the highest echelons of international cricket. In the eyes of this writer, De Silva stands far ahead of his contemporaries and is easily the most outstanding batsman of our times. What differentiates him from other worthy peers is that he offers the opposition absolutely no glimpse of hope during his stay at the crease. His test record is as illustrious as that of his peers and needs no elucidation. What follows here is a recap of the monumental contributions De Silva has made to his team right through his one day career. It is strkingly evident that more often than not Sri Lanka's fortunes ebb and flow with his game.
Nov 3,1984 Colombo New Zealand 171-6/45 Sri Lanka 174-6/39.4
Coming in to bat at 79-5 De Silva scores 50* and steers Lanka to victory
Jan 19 1985 Melbourne Australia 226-9/50 Sri Lanka 230-6/49.2
De Silva comes in at 150-4 and soon it was 161-5. However he scores a match- winning 46*
Oct 23 1985 Gujranwala Pakistan 224-5/40 Sri Lanka 209-7/40
Opening the innings, Aravinda is run out after a glorious 86 which included three huge sixes, one of them of the first ball of Imran's final spell (8-0-47-1). Lanka slumps from 161-2 to 209-7.
Apr 6 1986 Sharjah Pakistan 191-9/45 Sri Lanka 195-5/42.2
It was 59-2 when he got to bat . De Silva scores 52 to clinch the Asia Cup for Sri Lanka
Jan 12 1988 Hobart New Zealand 199-7 Sri Lanka 200-6/46.3
Enters the fray at 33-2 and scores a splendid 55
Jan 19 1988 Sydney Sri Lanka 188-9 Aus 189-7/49.3
Hits a blazing 79 after coming to bat at 39-3, then bowls a superb spell
(10-0-31-1) Australia stumble to victory through Veletta 68* and Dodemaide(30) after falling to 100-6.
Mar 25 1988 Sharjah India 219-8 Sri Lanka 201/49.2
It was 14-2 when Aravinda got in. Departs for 88 as Lanka falter from 151-2.
Oct 27 1988 Dhaka Pakistan 194-7/44 195-5/38.5
Comes in to bat at 100-2. Scores 48 to lead the Lankans home
Oct 29 1988 Dhaka Sri Lanka 271-6/45 India 254/44
Comes in to bat at 52-2 and topscores with 69 as Sri Lanka upset both India and Pakistan in the league stages of the Asia Cup
Mar 23 1989 Sharjah Pakistan 237-8 Sri Lanka 207/47.1
Coming in at a precarious 29-2, Aravinda top scores with 48 as Pakistan ekes out a narrow victory
Oct 25 1989 Margao Australia 222-7 Sri Lanka 194/47.1
Coming to bat at 21-2 which soon becomes 103-5 De Silva scores a blazing 96 with three sixes and is bowled by O'Donnell while going for a fourth one. Lanka slips from 166-5
Oct 27 1989 Lucknow Pakistan 219-6 Sri Lanka 213/49.2
Comes in to bat at 37-2. Top scores with 83 as Lanka crash to defeat from 187-2 losing the last eight wickets for 26. Akram and Qadir run through the innings once De Silva falls.
Dec 1 1990 Nagpur India 245-5/45 Sri Lanka 226-7/45
It was 11-2 when De Silva got out to bat. He departed after a spectacular innings of 104. Lankan hopes died with him.
Dec 8 1990 Margao India 136/40.3 Sri Lanka 137-3/32.5
Lanka falls to 24-2 chasing 137 on a dicey pitch. De Silva steers them without further alarms with a chanceless 63*
Aug 15 1992 Colombo Australia 247-5 Sri Lanka 251-6/42.5
Australia strike early blows as the first 2 wickets fall for 12 runs. De Silva thwarts their plans with a blazing innings of 105
Sep 4 1992 Colombo Australia 216-7 Sri Lanka 194-5/42.5
The game truncated due to rain, De Silva hits a match winning 63
Mar 20 1993 Moratuwa England 180/48.5 Sri Lanka 183-5/35.2
Gets in to bat at 68-2. Hits a breaktaking 75* adding 115 unbeaten runs with #3 Gurusinha who made 35*
Jul 25 1993 Colombo India 212-8 Sri Lanka 211/49.2
It was 46-2 when Aravinda came in and he made 62. Sri Lanka capitulates to defeat after being in the driver's seat at 161-2
Nov 25 1993 Calcutta Sri Lanka 188-6 West Indies 190-3/41.5
De Silva comes in at 65-2. The score soon becomes 77-5. Aravinda hangs on and scores a spectacular 68 before being run out. Ambrose came in for a lot of stick as De Silva carved 38 off the last 18 balls he faced. Curtly ended up with 10-0-59-0 while Winston Benjamin had 10-2-29-1 and Hooper 10-3-18-2
Dec 16 1993 West Indies 229-8/49 Sri Lanka 230-7/48.1
Coming in at 40-2 De Silva scores 51 as Sri Lanka beat the Windies
Feb 15 1994 India 246-5 Sri Lanka 238-8
Comes in to bat at 66-2 and scores 67. Sri Lanka 200-4 at one stage, sinks to defeat.
Feb 20 1994 Jullundur India 213-9 Sri Lanka 141-6/32.5
Sri Lanka were 72-2 when De Silva arrived, slipped to 99-6 and won finally with De Silva (32*) preventing further ado.
Sep 13 1994 Colombo Australia 225-6 Sri Lanka 164-4/34.4
4-1 when he came in. Scored a crucial 33 as wickets fell around him. Warne had 2-27 off 8 overs. Lanka won through better run rate
Nov 5 1994 Zimbabwe 290-5 Sri Lanka 288-8
Comes in to bat at 111-2, scores 97 not out as Lanka lose by a narrow margin
Dec 4 1994 Centurion Pakistan 245-9 Sri Lanka 233-9
It was 36-2 when De Silva got to the crease. Was caught and bowled by Waqar for 95. Lanka fail by 12 runs.
Oct 1 1995 Faislabad Sri Lanka 257-7 Pakistan 208-8
Coming in at 100-2, De Silva is run out for 47 and later takes 2-33 as Lanka win by 49 runs.
Oct 3 1995 Rawalpindi Pakistan 183-9/38 Sri Lanka 184-6/37.4
Sri Lanka totter at 36-3. Along comes De Silva with a quickfire 60 to add to his 2-32 in Pakistan's innings
Oct 20 1995 Sharjah Sri Lanka 273/49.5 West Indies 223/47.3
Comes in to bat at 111-1. De Silva cracks 50 off 35 balls in the cauldron of Sharjah. Sri Lanka topple the Windies to win their first international tournament.
Dec 15 1995 Adelaide West Indies 160-8 Sri Lanka 161-6/45
Comes in to bat at 24-2 with Walsh breathing fire. De Silva scores a match-winning 46. Walsh's figures : 10-5-23-1
Feb 21 1996 Colombo Zimbabwe 228-6 Sri Lanka 229-4/37
Comes in to bat at 23-2 and scores a whirlwind 91 as Sri Lanka wins their first Wills World Cup match in spectacular fashion
Mar 13 1996 Calcutta Sri Lanka 251-8 India 120-8/34.1
In the cauldron of the Eden Gardens, a raucous crowd of around 110,000 cannot believe their joy as Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana are back in the pavlion with just one on the board. Gurusinha falls to make it 35-3 while De Silva scores a magnificent 66 off a mere 47 balls, punctuated with glorious drives all around the ground
Mar 17 1996 Lahore Australia 241-7 Sri Lanka 245-3/46.2
Inserted to bat, Australia cruise to 137-1 thanks to a 101 stand partnership between Taylor (74) and Ponting (45). De Silva's sends them both, then picks two catches and restricted them to 241 with figures9-0-42-3. Then gets to the crease with both openers dismissed at 23. A match-winning 107* is the result
Aug 30 1996 Colombo Australia 228-9 Sri Lanka 232-6/45.5
Sri Lanka are 78-2 when Aravinda arrives. They soon slip to 81-5. De Silva counter-attacks with a scintillating 83* as Sri Lanka score a stunning victory.
Sep 3 1996 Colombo Zimbabwe 227-5 Sri Lanka 228-4/47
Scores an unbeaten 127* after coming to bat at 25-2
Sep 28 1996 Nairobi Kenya 188-9 Sri Lanka 190-3/30.4
Lanka totter at 7-2. De Silva arrives and makes 55
Oct 4 1996 Nairobi Pakistan 371-9 Sri Lanka 289/49.5
Lanka are chasing 291 to make it to the final. 26-2 becomes 27-4 with Waqar in full cry. De Silva scores 122, Waqar taing 5-52. Sri Lanka fall short by 1 run.
Apr 4 1997 Sharjah Sri Lanka 243-8 Pakistan 224-9
Waqar and Wasim send shock waves through the Lankan camp taking the first 2 wickets for only 2 runs. De Silva responds with 97.
Apr 7 1997 Sharjah Sri Lanka 251-7 Pakistan 200-45.4
Another familiar story. Sri Lanka are 11-2 when Aravinda comes in. He departs after making 134 plundering Waqar in the final overs (2 for 60 off 8 overs )
Apr 11 1997 Sharjah Pakistan 214/49.2 Sri Lanka 215-6/49.2
35-2 when De Silva comes to the crease. Makes a cup-winning 87*
Aug 24 1997 Colombo Sri Lanka 264/49.4 India 255-8
De Silva (104) pulls Lanka from the depths of 22-2 to 264.
Nov 5 1997 Lahore Pakistan 280/49.4 Sri Lanka 281-2/40
68-2 when Aravinda gets in. 102* is what he scores as Lanka coasts home with 60 balls to spare
Dec 28,1997 Margao India 228-6 Sri Lanka 229-5/48.2
Comes in at a dicey 51-2 and anchors Lanka home with 82* to draw the one-day series
Jul 7 1998 Colombo India 307-6 Sri Lanka 301/49.3
Chasing a huge target of 308 Sri Lanka appear to be in some trouble at 73-2. De Silva makes 105 as the tide is reversed. However Lanka nosedives to defeat after being 273-4 at one stage
Feb 3 1999 Sydney Sri Lanka 181-7/44 England 170-9/44
De Silva arrives at the crease with Sri Lanka at 99-2 and a while later it is 134-7. An anchoring innings of 52* is followed by match-winning spell of 9-0-25-0 opening the bowling
Mar 19 1999 Jamshedpur Pakistan 246-9 Sri Lanka 237/49.3
Another typical Lankan tragedy as Sri Lanka flounders once De Silva falls for 81. From 217-3 the last 7 wickets fall for 20 runs with Wasim Akram (3-34) taking a hat-trick
/body>
