The day the Lankans made the mighty Aussies wobble

“Done well there Bichel, Ohh.. He has hit the stumps. Well, I tell you what, he has just won the game for Australia I reckon. Andrew Bichel has runout Aravinda de Silva.” That Mark Taylor commentary will always be one of the most poignant punchlines for a Sri Lankan cricket fan. 

Free Hit Contributor – Kasun Ekneligoda

• Date: 18th of March 2018
• Setting: St. George’s Park, Port Elizabeth
• World Cup Semi Final, Sri Lanka vs Australia

With a golden opportunity to make it to the final, Sri Lanka tearfully collapsed to one of the greatest ever limited over teams ever to grace the game of cricket. The Aussies were on course, with a flawless World cup campaign, cruising towards consecutive titles without breaking a sweat. But on that fateful day, the lads from Sri Lanka made the mighty Aussie sweat.

Prelude

The 2003 Cricket World Cup had been a package full of surprises. From the highly unexpected non test playing Kenyan team reaching the Semis, up to miscalculation of Duckworth and Lewis scores for the hosts, it was a roller coaster ride. But there was one team, blazing its way to glory unaffected. Dressed in golden yellow, the Australian cricket team were journeying from great to legendary with a 16-match undefeated streak. The names Ponting, Hayden, Gilchrist, Lehmann, Bevan, McGrath and Lee made sure their presence was felt throughout the tournament. Their only glitch was losing Shane Warne to a drug scandal, but they made sure the cruise was on route. They beat every opposition they met handsomely and made every other team look below par.

The ‘Thunder’ from Down Under (2003)

On the other hand, the Sri Lankans had a topsy turvy tournament from the word go. Under Sanath Jayasuriya’s captaincy, they topped their group with wins against New Zealand and the West Indies, had a game tied on Duckworth and Lewis to eliminate the hosts South Africa and lost for the first time to a valiant Kenyan team. They struggled in the Super six stage with heavy losses to Australia and India, only to scrape their way to the semis courtesy a win against another surprise package, Zimbabwe. Though the islanders weren’t the hot favourites, they definitely were a dark horse in the race to the title. Except for a torrid run from Mahela Jayawardena, the rest of the team were amongst runs and wickets, chipping in at crucial moments. Their last outing against the Aussies in the Super Sixes was a forgettable one for the Lankans except for Aravinda de Silva. He made a formidable 91 with fireworks to land Lee and Hogg out of the park on several occasions while the rest of the team crumbled. They weren’t given much of a chance when they drew Australia in the semis, as the cricketing world predicted a comfortable win for the men in Gold.

A crest and a trough

Under overcast conditions on a crumbling pitch in Port Elizabeth, it was an out of the box decision, much to the astonishment of all when Ricky Ponting chose to bat first. Australia had only one change from the Super Six stage when their all-time greatest finisher Micheal Bevan was declared fit to play. Sri Lanka lined up a team with an extra batsman, Avishka Gunawardane while costing a pacer his place. Though the islanders were a bowler short, they had De Silva and Arnold with their handy spin on a gritty surface to balance things out. The usual opening pair of Gilchrist and Hayden opened for the Aussies and within just two overs, they found their groove. Gilchrist took Pulasthi Gunaratne, the naive Lankan quick to the cleaners while Hayden consolidated with a couple of boundaries. Wanting to halt the momentum, Jayasuriya handed the ball to De Silva, more with hope rather than expectation. But, just as Aravinda tossed up his second delivery, Gilchrist tried to sweep it across managing only to get a bottom edge which parried to Sangakkara from the pad. While the appeal was turned down by Rudi Koertzen, the South African umpire, it took a few seconds not only for the Lankans, but for everyone watching to realize that Gilchrist had walked in the midst of the appeal. It was a moment that many cricket fans cherish as walking was a rarity when it came to the Aussies. The scoreboard read 1 for 34 when captain Ricky Ponting arrived in the middle. But things escalated quickly for the Aussies when Chaminda Vaas sent back Hayden and Ponting in quick succession while stifling the Aussie to 3 for 51, well into the 13th over of the innings. The spinners were tightening the grip on either end, making the Aussies work hard for their runs. Suddenly, Sri Lanka appeared to have turned the tables.

Sangakkara’s “Gibbs moment” 

Lehmann and Symonds were all of a sudden in unfamiliar territory as pressure mounted with the spinner hunting for wickets and drying up the runs. Managing to hang on in the middle, the pair pushed the total over 100 only in the 25th over. The spin quartet of Murali, Jayasuriya, De Silva and Arnold bowled with immense control but couldn’t make a breakthrough. It was in the 29th over with the score reading 113 for 3, when Sri Lanka had a gem of an opportunity. The ploy of drying up the runs payed off when Jayasuriya tossed one up to Symonds who charged down the track to push it to cover, only managing to nick it. But, Kumar Sangakkara spilled the chance and to make matters worse, couldn’t recollect himself to whip off the bails in time with Symonds well outside his crease. Andrew Symonds had been in exquisite form throughout the tournament with the bat. Everyone in the arena felt the air sucked out of the Lankans as all the build up for that wicket went down the drain.

From a double strike to a finish with a flourish

Another opportunity didn’t arrive until the 34th over when Lehmann dragged one on from outside the off stump to Jayasuriya. The partnership was finally broken as arguably the greatest finisher of all time, Micheal Bevan made strides to the middle. He lasted only one ball as Jayasuriya got him to edge behind to Sangakkara. Not impressed though with the decision, Bevan had to drag himself back to the dressing room. De Silva snuck one through Brad Hogg when Sangakkara did the finishing touches this time, stumping him short of his crease. The scorecard read 157 for 6 at the end of 40 overs and Sri Lanka felt they had got the leash tight on the Aussies at that stage. Vaas came back to remove Ian Harvey, worsening their woes. Watching wickets tumble at the other end, Symonds waited patiently for his time as he started to attack the Lankan bowlers in the final few overs. With the assistance of Andrew Bichel, he hoisted the Aussies to a total of 212 for 7 with 34 runs gathered in the last 5 overs, as the innings wrapped up. Symonds was unbeaten on 91 with Bichel on 19 by his side. It wasn’t as big a total as the Aussies would have wanted when Ponting decided to bat, but a fighting total from where they were. Yet, at the changeover, all felt Sri Lanka had done enough to do the near impossible and knock the Aussies out of the World Cup. 

The “Brett Lee” hurricane

Chasing 213, the openers Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya came out to open the Lankan account. The Aussies were on their toes from the word go, harrowing the Lankan pair with agonizing chirp. But the openers were up to the task as they were solid against McGrath and Lee for the first three overs, scoring 17 runs without a loss. But the young speedster from New South Wales was just warming up. In Lee’s second over, Atapattu picked up a slow ball which was dispatched for four. He tried to repeat the shot the next ball, cutting it to backward point, but was dropped by Hogg. Atapattu might have thought that luck was going his way, but what followed was a shocker. Lee produced a sizzling inswinging yorker clocking a speed of 160.1 kmph which Atapattu tried to drive on the up, but his instincts were way too late as his off stump went cartwheeling. The Aussies were looking for a moment of magic and Lee delivered it. Later on, Marvan had stated in an interview that he had no clue whatsoever and didn’t even see the ball. With the scalp of Atapattu, the Aussies started their wicket hunt. Everyone could feel the tension with the Aussies clawing their way back into the game. Jayasuriya flicked one off his pad for a six but he fell to McGrath shortly afterwards. Lee, pumped up, ran through the Lankan top order sending back Hashan Tillakaratne and Avishka Gunawardene back cheaply. The scoreboard read 44 for 4 as Sri Lanka’s “go-to man” Aravinda de Silva came together with Kumar Sangakkara. All eyes were on him, expecting a match winning innings from him reminiscent of 1996.

Heartbreak for the Lions

Aravinda was in form, coming into the semifinal after a trailer blazing 91 against the same opposition in the previous round. Walking into his final tournament, he looked prepared to pave the way to the grandest prize in Cricket. He played an extravagant cover drive off Glenn McGrath and a courageous cut shot to Lee, to show that he was not in the least intimidated by the Aussie attack. But Sangakkara’s day on the other end, was about to turn from bad to worse. It was in the 14th over when Sangakkara pushed one off his thighs to short midwicket and called for a run. De Silva didn’t hesitate to respond as he took off to the striker’s end. But Bichel was quick to react off his own bowling, picking it up on his follow through to fire it at the striker’s end. A full-length dive wasn’t enough to save Aravinda as he fell short. It was a heart-wrenching moment for all Sri Lankan fans to watch one among the greatest of the game, making the walk back for the last time. An exquisite chance to do the near impossible was gently slipping through the Lankan fingers. Jayawardane and Arnold succumbed soon after and Sri Lanka languished at 78 for 7 in 22 overs. It was left to Sangakkara and Vaas to climb a “triple Everest”. They tried their best to keep the momentum going without losing another wicket as the dark clouds started hovering over St. George’s Park. The scoreboard displayed 123 for 7 in the 39th over when the rains came down, abandoning further play for the day. The Australians were declared winners by 48 runs according to the Duckworth and Lewis rule. Sadly, it was curtains at the world cup for the Sri Lankans.

A Marvan masterclass in Durban

Australia went on to win their third World Cup, beating India comprehensively in the final. What would have happened if Sri Lanka had been there instead of the Aussies? We will never know. Would the Lankans have beaten the Aussies if they had grabbed those chances or if they had a better start or if Aravinda wasn’t runout? It’s all left to our imaginations. It has been 17 years since, but cricket fans from round the globe will be fondly recollect the memories from the day when men from a tiny island made the mighty Aussies wobble in a World Cup semifinal.

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of ThePapare.com.

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