It was the 1555th Test match in cricket history
Rajneesh Gupta20-Aug-2001It was the 1555th Test match in cricket history.It was India’s 342nd and Sri Lanka’s 112th Test.It was the 21st Test between these two teams. The record now reads:Sri Lanka 2, India 7, drawn 12. The Lankan win against India cameafter about 16 years. Sri Lanka’s only other win had come in September1985 at the P Sara stadium in Colombo when it defeated India by 149runs.Umpires Asoka de Silva and Steve Bucknor were standing in their fourthand 59th Test respectively while Cammie Smith was officiating as ICCmatch referee for the 34th time.India was without the services of Sachin Tendulkar for the firsttime in a Test since he made his debut against Pakistan at Karachi inNovember 1989. Tendulkar appeared in 84 Tests without a break – aworld record maximum consecutive Tests played by any player in Testhistory since debut. Tendulkar bettered the record of another Indian,Kapil Dev, who appeared in 66 consecutive Tests from his debut Testagainst Pakistan at Faisalabad in October 1978 to the Calcutta Testagainst England in 1984-85. Other players with 50 or more consecutiveTests since debut are Australia’s Ian Healy (64), West Indian RohanKanhai (61), New Zealander John Reid (58), England’s Tony Greig (58),Zimbabwean Alistair Campbell (54), South African Gary Kirsten (53),England’s Frank Woolley (52), Australia’s Rod Marsh (52), ZimbabweanAndy Flower (52) and Australian Greg Chappell (51).Tendulkar, however, seems to have missed the opportunity to make 100consecutive Test appearances in a career – the feat which has beenrecorded only by two players in Test annals. Australia’s Allan Borderplayed 153 consecutive matches of his 156-Test career while India’sSunil Gavaskar played 106 matches at a stretch out of 125 matches.Among contemporary players, Australia’s Mark Waugh with 94 consecutiveappearances might in all probability join Border and Gavaskar.Suresh Perera and Hashan Tillakaratne were making their return intoSri Lankan side. Perera had last appeared for Sri Lanka againstEngland at The Oval in 1998, missing 24 matches in between. Only DonAnurasiri (27) has missed more matches between two appearances for SriLanka. Tillakaratne, meanhwile, had last appeared for Sri Lankaagainst Pakistan at Dhaka in the final of Asian Test Championship,thus missing 21 matches in between.Sanath Jayasuriya, when he reached three in the first innings,completed 2,000 runs in Tests on Sri Lankan soil. He became the thirdbatsman after Aravinda de Silva (3084 runs in 43 matches) and ArjunaRanatunga (2851 in 48). At the end of this match, Jayasuriya has anaggregate of 2114 runs from 32 matches in home matches.Jayasuriya on 8 (in the first innings) also completed his 1000runs as Sri Lanka’s skipper in his 22nd match. He joined 55 othercaptains who have accomplished this feat. Ranatunga with 3118 runsfrom 56 matches is the only other Sri Lankan to aggregate 1000 or moreruns as skipper.Jayasuriya (111) made his eighth Test century in his 60th Test – histhird against India.Kumara Sangakkara (105*) became the fifth Sri Lankan wicketkeeper toscore a hundred. This was also the eighth instance of a hundred by SriLankan wicketkeeper. Romesh Kaluwitharana (3),Amal Silva (2),BrendonKuruppu and Hasan Tillakaratne (one each) are the others who have madehundreds. Sangakkara also became the second Sri Lankan wicketkeeper after AmalSilva to score a hundred against India. Silva had made 111 at the PSara stadium, Colombo in 1985-86. Interestingly Sri Lanka won on boththe occasions.The wicket of Tillakaratne was Javagal Srinath’s 100th wicket onforeign soil. He accomplished the feat in his 28 match abroad. He becamethe fifth Indian after Kapil Dev (215 wickets in 66 Tests), BishanSingh Bedi (129 in 37), Anil Kumble (101 in 30) and BhagwatChandrasekhar (100 in 26) and 38th bowler in all Tests to do so.Incidentally West Indian Courtney Walsh tops the list of bowlers withmost wickets in away matches with 290 wickets from 74 matches. He isfollowed by Pakistani Wasim Akram (260 in 62), New Zealander RichardHadlee (230 in 43), West Indian Malcolm Marshall (219 in 50), India’sKapil Dev (215 in 66), Australian Shane Warne (207 in 49) and WestIndian Curtley Ambrose (202 in 46).Srinath by not resuming his innings in the first innings after beingstruck by a Fernando delivery, achieved the dubious distinction ofbecoming the first batsman to retire hurt in an innings against SriLanka. He also became the 14th Indian to suffer this fate in a Test,incidentally it was the 16th instance of an Indian batsman retiringwith an injury – Dilip Vengsarkar retired on as many as threeoccasions.The following table lists all Indians who got retired hurt in an innings :
Batsman
Runs
Vs
Inns
Test
Venue
Season
Naoomal Jeoomal
5*
Eng
1st
3rd
Madras (Chepauk)
1933-34
ES Maka
2*
WI
1st
3rd
Port-of-Spain
1952-53
CG Borde
15*
Eng
1st
1st
Nottingham
1959
DN Sardesai
0*
NZ
2nd
1st
Madras (Corp.)
1964-65
AD Gaekwad
81*
WI
1st
4th
Kingston
1975-76
BP Patel
14*
WI
1st
4th
Kingston
1975-76
DB Vengsarkar
1*
Eng
2nd
3rd
Madras (Chepauk)
1976-77
SM Patil
65*
Aus
1st
1st
Sydney
1980-81
SMH Kirmani
9*
NZ
1st
2nd
Christchurch
1980-81
DB Vengsarkar
71*
Eng
1st
5th
Madras (Chepauk)
1981-82
SV Manjrekar
10*
WI
2nd
1st
Delhi
1987-88
DB Vengsarkar
102*
WI
1st
3rd
Calcutta
1987-88
M Prabhakar
0*
WI
2nd
3rd
Mohali
1994-95
VVS Laxman
0*
SA
1st
3rd
Johannesburg
1996-97
S Ramesh
26*
Aus
2nd
2nd
Melbourne
1999-00
J Srinath
0*
SL
1st
1st
Galle
2001-02
Dilhara Fernando by returning figures of 5 for 42 in first innings,recorded the second best figures by a Sri Lankan against India. Thebest however still remains as Rumesh Ratnayake’s six for 85 at the PSara stadium in Colombo in 1985-86.By taking the catch of Mohammad Kaif in the second innings, HashanTillakaratne equalled Roshan Mahanama’s record tally of 56 catches inthe field for Sri Lanka.The five-wicket haul in the second innings was Muttiah Muralitharan’s25th in his 63rd Test bringing him level with Pakistan’s Wasim Akram.He still has some catching up to do – New Zealander Richard Hadleeachieved it a record 36 times and 27 of England’s Ian Botham.The five-wicket haul was also Murali’s second against India afterhis five for 162 at Lucknow in 1993-94. He became the third Sri Lankanafter Rumesh Ratnayake and Asantha de Mel to bag two separate fivewicket hauls. India’s first innings total of 187 was their lowest against Sri Lankain all matches obliterating the previous lowest of 198 at the P Sarastadium in Colombo in 1985-86. Later, India’s second innings total of180 took over the dubious honour.Sri Lanka has now played six matches at Galle and won four matches- three by an innings margin. Sri Lanka’s only defeat at this groundcame against Pakistan in June 2000.
