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HomePageTurnerBook ExcerptsBefore 1996 World Cup final, Ranatunga called Warne ‘average’, took pressure off...

Before 1996 World Cup final, Ranatunga called Warne ‘average’, took pressure off the Lankans

The ultimate cornerstone of great captaincy is selfbelief. In the lead-up to the final, there was uncertainty in the Sri Lankan camp.

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What’s more, Ranatunga had an uncanny ability to get under the Australians’ skin. On the eve of the final, he dismissed Warne as ‘an average spinner’. Irritated, Warne strolled over to Ian Chappell and asked, ‘What’s the fat bastard said about me now?’ Ranjit Fernando reckons it was another Ranatunga ploy: ‘He had a method in it—he thrived on it. And people like Warne were overly anxious to get the better of him, which made them lesser players.’ In making himself the heel, Ranatunga shifted pressure off his players’ shoulders too. He painted a target on his back, and was more than happy for all of Australia to take aim.

Still, perhaps the ultimate cornerstone of great captaincy is selfbelief. In the lead-up to the final, there was uncertainty in the camp. Dav and Aravinda thought Sri Lanka should bat first; so too Imran Khan, who offered his advice to the Sri Lankans. ‘I was confused after hearing that from a World Cup winning captain,’ Arjuna told Rex Clementine. ‘Aravinda ran in and said, “I told you so,” but I told them we will stick to our decision.’

Vaas got Mark Waugh early, but as Taylor and Ponting found their groove, the game looked to be getting away from Sri Lanka. It turned when Jayasuriya took a swirling catch to dislodge Taylor; between overs 25 and 30, Australia managed just 16 runs. Still, at 150-2 with 20 overs in the bank, they were clearly in the driver’s seat, well set for a final blast.


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But, the spinners applied the stranglehold: in the 31st over, Ponting got himself in a muddle and was bowled by Aravinda. Warne—promoted to number five to try and get Australia moving again—charged Murali and was undone by a sharp leg-side stumping. Suddenly, the momentum was all with Sri Lanka. They kept their foot on the neck, fielding with asphyxiating fury. When Steve Waugh skied one off Dharmasena, Aravinda took a brilliant catch on the run. Australia were 170-5. In the space of 10 overs, they had added 36 while losing 4 wickets. The game had turned on its head.

Law and Bevan rebuilt, but with no easy runs on offer, had to try and engineer shots. Law was caught trying to carve Jayasuriya over the off side; first ball of the next over, Aravinda bowled Healy with a beautifully flighted off break. After 6.1 overs, he’d picked up 3 wickets for 24 runs. Murali got through his 10 for 31. All in all, the spinners bowled 37 overs and conceded just 163.155 Sri Lanka could feel very happy with a 242-run target. Having built a superb platform, Australia left a lot of runs in the middle. Still, most felt Taylor’s men were ahead at the halfway stage. Finals are nervy affairs; runs on the board valued currency. Jayasuriya could have been run out eighth ball of the innings; next up, he tried to sneak 2 to McGrath and was found just short. Soon after, a direct hit would have seen Gurusinha run out. Kaluwitharana miscued a pull straight to square leg. At 23-2, Australia’s score looked a long way off.

This was cricket at its most fraught, but you would not have guessed it looking at Aravinda. He strolled to the crease like a man playing a leisurely Sunday match, racing off the mark with a glorious on-drive. There was a ‘Mad Max’ moment early on—as he charged down the wicket after Gurusinha had cracked the ball straight to backward point. Had McGrath gathered cleanly, it might have been curtains for Sri Lanka. Instead, Aravinda went on batting like he didn’t have a care in the world. He struck the ball with such artistry that you forgot the hopes of a nation rested on his shoulders. Fleming was pulled over mid-on and flicked through the leg side; when Warne was introduced, Aravinda rocked back and punched him through cover point. As Ranatunga predicted, dew was making life hard for the spinner. Gurusinha cracked a full toss to the straight boundary; then charged Reiffel, slapping the ball over mid-off. He had the look of a man growing in confidence. 71-2 after 15, Sri Lanka were back in the hunt.

With Aravinda at the crease, they had control of the match. ‘Big game player,’ Pushpakumara reflects. ‘And he proved it to the world. Remarkable. As long as he was in the middle, we knew we could easily win. He had shots all over the place.’ Time and again, Aravinda coaxed the ball to the boundary rope. As in the B&H Final the year before, there was none of the crash, bang and wallop of a demolition job. Rather, this was a sculptor chipping away at his subject, each stroke a study in precision.

But Australia would not lie down. In the 31st over, Gurusinha tried to charge Reiffel again—but a clean-air swipe saw him bowled. Ranatunga arrived at the crease with Sri Lanka needing 94 off 119. It was no straightforward task, but Arjuna had made this kind of innings his speciality. He and Aravinda added 17 from the next 6 overs; on the stroke of 40, the captain tickled Mark Waugh to the third-man fence. It was the first boundary in 8 overs; Sri Lanka needed 51 from the last 10.


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Aravinda went to three figures with a fine tickle in the 46th; when he stroked the ball to the cover boundary later in the over, Sri Lanka were level. ‘They’ve come such a long way, in such a short period of time,’ Tony Grieg cooed—with more than a trace of pride in his voice. Ever-present on commentary since Australia—rarely trying to hide which team he supported—Grieg seemed as much a part of the triumph as anyone. As Kaluwitharana later put it, ‘He was almost an ambassador.’

Fittingly, it fell to Ranatunga to end the match—a final insouciant clip declaring it done. Players charged inside the boundary rope; Aravinda grinned ear to ear, running into Arjuna’s embrace. Only the captain remained calm. As soon as the winning runs left his bat, he turned and took two stumps as souvenirs, soberly shaking Taylor’s hand. Each of his players received a congratulatory hug; yet there was little more than a hint of a smile on Arjuna’s face. This was a man vindicated, one who believed he was doing nothing more than his job. Or one who knew. At the post-match ceremony, he took the trophy like it belonged in his hands.

This excerpt from Nicholas BrookesAn Island’s Eleven–A History of Cricket in Sri Lanka has been published with permission from Penguin Viking.

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