Team history at Cricket World Cup - Sri Lanka (1975-2011)

Arjuna Ranatunga lifts the World Cup trophy

Sri Lanka are indisputably the most outlandish side in cricket World Cups, for no other side has ever managed to win a World Cup after having been an associate nation previously. Sri Lanka were a cricketing minnow for 4 World Cups. They were no dark horses even when they played the 1996 World Cup, a tournament that they eventually won. But ever since the 1996 fairytale, the emerald isle have been the second most consistent team at the World Cup.

Sri Lanka made their ODI debut in 1975, playing the invincible West Indians in their first match. As expected, their first outing was underwhelming. The Lankan contingent managed only 86 runs in their first international match. The poignant tale continued for the remainder of the tournament as Lanka returned home, winless.

The island known for its gems, showed a scintilla of amelioration in 1979, beating their neighbours India to record their first ODI victory ever. India would also become a victim of Sri Lanka’s first Test victory, 6 years later. Despite that victory against India, Sri Lanka once again returned home after the initial round.

In 1983, Sri Lanka managed to beat New Zealand and the 1987 World Cup – the first World Cup to be played outside England – saw Sri Lanka comprehensively beaten. In 1992, however, Sri Lanka eked out two wins, the highest the island had produced till then.

Having won just 4 matches in their first 5 World Cups, Sri Lanka began their 1996 campaign with people thinking that they'd only make up the numbers.

A bomb blast in the capital city had deterred the Australian and the West Indies teams to pull out from Sri Lanka, helping the co-hosts enter the knock-outs for the first time, even before a single ball was bowled.

Luck did favour them, but it would be preposterous to say that it helped them win the title. In the 2003 World Cup, Kenya and Zimbabwe managed to enter the Super Six, thanks to some forfeits from visiting teams but that didn’t help them win the tournament.

Arjuna Ranatunga, cricket’s version of Kautiliya, melded experience with youthfulness, aggression with stability, and mavericks with conformism. Sri Lanka choked oppositions with spin and punctured them with wonton savages.

The island nation propounded a new brand of cricket, that would re-write cricket’s destiny. The 1996 World Cup was one of its kind. The islanders walked in furtively, conquered the world and swaggered back home with the trophy as the whole world gaped at the impossible becoming a possibility.

The 1999 World Cup was a melodramatic story. In 2003, Sri Lanka’s journey ended in the semi-finals. Sri Lanka ended up being bridesmaids in 2007 and 2011.

History at the World Cup

Sri Lanka have played a total number of 66 matches in World Cups, out of which they have won 31 and lost 32. It is apposite to split Sri Lanka’s renditions into two; before 1996 and after 1996.

Since 1996, Sri Lanka have been the most consistent team after Australia, winning 27 of their 41 games accounting for a win-loss ratio of 2.250.

Overall Record

Team	Span	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	NR	W/L
Sri Lanka	1975-2011	66	31	32	1	2	0.968

Record since 1996

Team	Span	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	NR	W/L
Sri Lanka	1996-2011	41	27	12	1	1	2.250

Trophies Won

The 1996 Wills spoils is the only World Cup trophy residing in Sri Lanka’s trophy cabinet.

Clouds of controversy loomed over the first World Cup to be played in Sri Lanka as the Tamil insurgents bombed the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in Colombo. Although, ICC declared Sri Lanka safe, West Indies and Australia refused to play in the country. While West Indies’s fear was genuine, Australia had a political ploy surrounding that decision. After negotiations, ICC decided to award both games to Sri Lanka on forfeit. Thus, the second youngest Test nation then, proceeded to its first knockout stage, even before the World Cup had began.

Arjuna Ranatunga devised a canny, astute scheme to catalyse Sri Lanka’s triumph. The men in blue and yellow had the most experienced lineup on paper as Arjuna successfully executed the plan of opening with two pinch-hitters.

Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana were to bash balls without scruple. Asanka Gurusinha at number 3 would anchor the innings. Aravinda de Silva was the main batsman and it was the responsibility of the middle-order to bat around him. Ranatunga was at five and would make sure the rate of scoring would not slump with his deft shots and risk-free run scoring.

If wickets tumbled and the going got tough, then Roshan Mahanama and Hashan Tillakaratne would get going from numbers 6 and 7. Chaminda Vaas at number eight would give the upswing required at the end.

At the other end of the pitch, with the ball in hand, Sri Lanka employed Vaas and Pramodaya Wickramasinghe to utilise the new ball. Kumar Dharmasena and Muttiah Muralitharan would bowl their off breaks. In addition, Arjuna cleverly used de Silva, Jayasuriya and himself in choking down oppositions with deceptive slow bowling.

Sri Lanka advanced to the quarterfinals unbeaten, with the most important victory coming against India at Delhi. It was in this game that Sanath Jayasuriya paraded his pinch-hitting style to the world, hitting Manoj Prabhakar out of cricket and coaxing him into early retirement. The victory against India made the team believe that they could go all the way.

The left-handed marauder once again smashed Sri Lanka into the semifinals, helping the team thrash England in the first quarterfinals.

In the semi-finals, the island nation won the match through default, when the fanatic fans from Kolkata set the stadium on fire. In the final, the fairy tale reached the crux with the pearl from the Indian ocean humbling the mighty Australians.

Favourite opposition

Sri Lanka have never lost to Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in the World Cup. The only time they lost to an associate nation was when they lost to Kenya in 2003. Apart from the lesser strong teams, Sri Lanka’s favourite World Cup foe happens to be New Zealand. They have played 9 games against the Kiwis, winning 6 and losing 3. The Lankans have also beaten them in the semi-finals of two consecutive World Cups (2007 and 2011).

India are Sri Lanka’s second favourite adversary. Sri Lanka have lost thrice to India while winning four times with one game producing no-result.

Pakistan remain Sri Lanka’s migraine in World Cups. They have played 7 games against Pakistan, losing all seven.

Team	Span	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	NR	W/L
v New Zealand	1979-2011	9	6	3	0	0	2.000
v India	1979-2011	8	4	3	0	1	1.333
v England	1983-2011	9	3	6	0	0	0.500
v South Africa	1992-2007	4	1	2	1	0	0.500
v West Indies	1975-2007	6	2	4	0	0	0.500
v Australia	1975-2011	8	1	6	0	1	0.166
v Pakistan	1975-2011	7	0	7	0	0	0.000

Best Captain

Sri Lanka have had eight captains leading them at World Cups, with Arjuna Ranatunga, Anura Tennekoon and Duleep Mendis being the only skippers leading the team more than once at cricket's biggest carnival.

Considering the number of matches won, Ranatunga and Jayawardene have been the best captains, both winning 8 matches each. But Kumar Sangakkara has the best win/loss ratio of the three, losing only two matches.

Captain	Teams	Span	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	NR	W/L
B Warnapura	1	1979-1979	1	1	0	0	0	-
KC Sangakkara	1	2011-2011	9	6	2	0	1	3.000
DPMD Jayawardene	1	2007-2007	11	8	3	0	0	2.666
A Ranatunga	1	1996-1999	11	8	3	0	0	2.666
ST Jayasuriya	1	2003-2003	10	5	4	1	0	1.250
PA de Silva	1	1992-1992	8	2	5	0	1	0.400
LRD Mendis	1	1983-1987	12	1	11	0	0	0.090
APB Tennekoon	1	1975-1979	4	0	4	0	0	0.000

Worst Tournament

Sri Lanka made it a habit to evict themselves out of the tournament in the first leg itself prior to their glory in 1996. Hence, I consider only the tournaments that succeeded the 1996 World Cup.

Sri Lanka’s worst performance came in the 1999 World Cup that immediately followed the victorious campaign in 1996. But since 1999, the men in blue and yellow have never failed to reach the semi-finals in any of the World Cups.

Any promise Sri Lanka garnered from fans world over pummelled down after the underwhelming performance in 1999. Sri Lanka were knocked out in the first round, with victories coming against only Zimbabwe and Kenya.

The use of Duke balls duped the Lankan players and made life difficult for them with prodigious swing.

Best batsman

Having played in 5 World Cups, Sanath Jayasuriya is the leading run-scorer for Sri Lanka at the world event. The Matara-mauler scored 1165 runs with 3 centuries at a strike-rate of 90.66.

Jayasuriya is closely followed by the Mad Max who has 1064 runs. Sangakkara has the highest runs among active cricketers with 991 runs.

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Runs	HS	Ave	SR	100	50
ST Jayasuriya	1992-2007	38	37	1165	120	34.26	90.66	3	6
PA de Silva	1987-2003	35	32	1064	145	36.68	86.57	2	6
KC Sangakkara	2003-2011	30	28	991	111	45.04	78.71	1	7
DPMD Jayawardene	1999-2011	33	29	975	115*	37.50	87.67	3	5
A Ranatunga	1983-1999	30	29	969	88*	46.14	80.95	0	7
TM Dilshan	2007-2011	20	18	717	144	47.80	91.10	2	3
WU Tharanga	2007-2011	20	20	693	133	38.50	75.49	2	4
RS Mahanama	1987-1999	25	21	596	89	33.11	56.54	0	5
MS Atapattu	1999-2003	15	15	521	124	43.41	79.29	2	3
AP Gurusinha	1987-1996	18	17	488	87	28.70	61.85	0	3

On the basis of batting average, Dilshan tops the list with an average of 47.80.

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Runs	HS	Ave	SR	100	50
TM Dilshan	2007-2011	20	18	717	144	47.80	91.10	2	3
A Ranatunga	1983-1999	30	29	969	88*	46.14	80.95	0	7
KC Sangakkara	2003-2011	30	28	991	111	45.04	78.71	1	7
MS Atapattu	1999-2003	15	15	521	124	43.41	79.29	2	3
WU Tharanga	2007-2011	20	20	693	133	38.50	75.49	2	4
DPMD Jayawardene	1999-2011	33	29	975	115*	37.50	87.67	3	5
PA de Silva	1987-2003	35	32	1064	145	36.68	86.57	2	6
LPC Silva	2007-2011	18	14	427	64	35.58	75.97	0	5
RL Dias	1979-1987	10	10	310	80	34.44	57.72	0	3
ST Jayasuriya	1992-2007	38	37	1165	120	34.26	90.66	3	6

Best bowlers

Muralitharan has picked up more wickets than any Sri Lankan player in World Cups. With a tally of 68 wickets, no Sri Lankan has a chance to beat his record in the near future. Vaas succeeds him with 49 wickets.

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR
M Muralitharan	1996-2011	40	39	1335	68	4/19	19.63	3.88	30.3
WPUJC Vaas	1996-2007	31	31	1040	49	6/25	21.22	3.97	32.0
SL Malinga	2007-2011	15	14	554	31	6/38	17.87	5.17	20.7
ST Jayasuriya	1992-2007	38	31	1060	27	3/12	39.25	4.83	48.7
ALF de Mel	1983-1987	9	9	449	18	5/32	24.94	4.97	30.1
PA de Silva	1987-2003	35	22	671	16	3/42	41.93	4.97	50.6
GP Wickramasinghe	1992-1999	17	16	625	16	3/30	39.06	4.58	51.0
TM Dilshan	2007-2011	20	16	284	13	4/4	21.84	4.18	31.3
CRD Fernando	2003-2007	16	16	546	13	3/41	42.00	5.66	44.4
RJ Ratnayake	1983-1987	9	9	437	12	2/18	36.41	4.91	44.5

Malinga tops the list of best bowling averages. He averages 17.87 runs per wicket followed by Murali who averages 19.63.

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	Econ	SR
SL Malinga	2007-2011	15	14	554	31	6/38	17.87	5.17	20.7
M Muralitharan	1996-2011	40	39	1335	68	4/19	19.63	3.88	30.3
WPUJC Vaas	1996-2007	31	31	1040	49	6/25	21.22	3.97	32.0
TM Dilshan	2007-2011	20	16	284	13	4/4	21.84	4.18	31.3
RP Arnold	2003-2007	21	9	178	6	3/47	29.66	5.28	33.6
GP Wickramasinghe	1992-1999	17	16	625	16	3/30	39.06	4.58	51.0
ST Jayasuriya	1992-2007	38	31	1060	27	3/12	39.25	4.83	48.7
PA de Silva	1987-2003	35	22	671	16	3/42	41.93	4.97	50.6
CRD Fernando	2003-2007	16	16	546	13	3/41	42.00	5.66	44.4
AP Gurusinha	1987-1996	18	9	307	7	2/67	43.85	5.79	45.4

Memorable matches

Sri Lanka vs India, Manchester, 1979

The fixture against India at Old Trafford is forever etched in the island’s history as the country’s first-ever victory at the world stage came to pass there. The islanders humbled the Indian lineup swanking of Kapil Dev, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Viswanath and Bishan Bedi by 47 runs.

India won the toss and sent Sri Lanka into bat. Thanks to half-centuries from Sunil Wettimuny, Duleep Mendis and Roy Dias, Sri Lanka ended up scoring 238.

Batting second, India managed only 191 runs, losing all 10 wickets. Medium-pacer Tony Opatha and ace leg spinner DS de Silva picked up three wickets each, derailing the Indian innings.

Sri Lanka vs India, Kolkata, 1996

Sri Lanka were pitted against India in the semi-finals of the 1996 World Cup. Toss was to be a crucial factor in deciding the fate of the game, with teams having to deal with the dilemma of choosing between dew and a crumbling surface.

Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin won the toss and elected to bowl first. Arjuna Ranatunga, later admitted that it was the best toss he had lost.

Indian cricket fans riot after their team slumped to 120/8

Sri Lankans, batting first, lost both their trump cards in the very first over. With the thorn in the flesh for most bowlers back in the dug-out, everyone anticipated a dramatic collapse that would draw the curtains on Sri Lanka’s fairytale. But de Silva had other ideas. He single-handedly rewrote the script of the game and hauled his team back from the dead.

If rebuilding – at 1/2 in the first over – means consolidating, building partnerships and avoiding further bloodshed, Aravinda travelled the wrong way, attacking bowlers, taking undue risks and savaging balls to all parts and salvaged the sinking ship. When the Mad Max misread a googly from Kumble and heard his death rattle, he had already scored 64 runs off 47 balls. The gritty Sri Lankan middle-order propped Aravinda’s spectacle with hefty contributions. Sri Lanka ended up with 251 which was well above par, provided that they kept the little master Sachin Tendulkar in check.

Sri Lanka’s nightmare materialised and the Indian batting maestro took the Sri Lankan bowling apart on a crumbling turf. At one stage, India were cruising having scored 98 for the loss of just one wicket.

Ranatunga called on Jayasuriya to bowl his slow left-arm spin. The southpaw came over the wicket and tried to hit the footmarks to extract some invariable bounce. Tendulkar, who remained unflustered, tried to flick a ball that spun into him. He missed the flick, the ball ricocheted off his thigh into the ground and bounced into Kaluwitharana’s gloves. Sachin thought he had it fine and attempted a run, Kaluwitharana showed little hesitance and whipped the bails off in a flash.

That was the break the Lankans needed as the spinners spun yarns around the Indian batting lineup. When India were 120-8, the Bengal crowd lost their cool and set the stadium on fire. The match referee awarded the match to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka vs Australia, Lahore, 1996

Lahore, on the 17th of March, 1996, saw an emergence of an unfancied team. From nowhere, Sri Lanka came forth as the winners of the Wills World Cup.

Australia marched into the final after beating West Indies in the semi-finals. Sri Lanka were soaring with confidence after beating India at home. Ranatunga, for a change, kicked off the mind games prior to the game branding Shane Warne as an average bowler and the Waugh brothers as being overrated.

When the expert critics believed in batting first and putting up a heavy score on the board, the Lankan captain as he had done throughout the tournament resisted conventions and elected to bowl first.

The Lankans kept the Aussies to 241 with Aravinda being the wrecker-in-chief. Chasing 241 for glory, Jayasuriya and Kalu departed early. But Aravinda combined with Gurusinghe to form an impenetrable partnership that helped the island nation sail towards safety. Arjuna with his unbeaten 47 made sure that pressure didn’t affect the run chase. Sri Lanka romped home with 7 wickets and 22 balls remaining.

Sri Lanka vs South Africa, Durban, 2003

Cricket is a game of numbers and that was further emphasised by South Africa’s exit from the tournament in 2003.

Batting first, Sri Lanka scored 268. In reply, the Proteas were 223 for 6 as the clouds started drooling down. The D/L par score at the end of the over read 229. Mark Boucher advanced down the track against Muralitharan and deposited the penultimate ball into the stands.

Boucher pumped his fist in the air as if South Africa had won. The next ball was blocked as the covers were brought in to shield the turf from the pouring heavens. Boucher was unaware of the fact that the D/L par score would only allow them to tie the match and they needed one more for victory.

The rain in the rainbow nation refused to cease and the hosts were knocked out in a dramatic fashion.

Sri Lanka vs England, Antigua, 2007

The 33rd match in the 2007 World Cup turned out to be a nail-biter as Sri Lanka edged England by 2 runs.

Winning the toss, England put Sri Lanka into bat and the Lankans limped to 235. Chasing 236, England found themselves 6 down for 133. But Ravi Bopara, together with Paul Nixon, staged a spunky rear guard taking England to 220 for 7.

Needing 12 runs off the last over, Bopara paddle swept Dilhara Fernando for four from the second ball and snatched a couple off the next. The equation came down to three off the last. Dilhara Fernando, a bowler who is infamous for his untimely no balls, bowled a quick back of a length delivery that disturbed the woodwork, disappointing the English legion that had gathered to watch the match.

Sri Lanka vs South Africa, Guyana, 2007

If late hour twists are exclusive for cinemas, cricket proved it wrong when Sri Lanka almost won a game that was bordering on a South African victory.

Batting first, the Lankans were bundled out for 209. Chasing 210, South Africa were 5 down for 206 with just 4 runs needed for a win.

Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka slung a slow yorker at Pollock, who was bemused and was clean bowled. The wicket didn’t alarm anyone. The very next ball, Andrew Hall lobbed a yorker up in the air into the hands of the cover fielder. The Lankans smiled at the piece of consolations they were garnering when defeat was lurking behind them.

That was the over and Vaas bowled the next over, giving away only 1 run. Malinga returned with Kallis on strike. Sri Lankans were not hoping for a victory which was unlikely at that time, but they did hope that Malinga would get a hat-trick.

The Galle-born pacer ran up and slung a full-length ball at Kallis who edged it behind. Malinga had a hat-trick, and South Africa’s chokers tag was slowly starting to appear again. The next ball rattled Ntini’s stumps and Malinga seemed like he could no wrong.

South Africa needed 3 to win and Sri Lanka needed one more wicket. Malinga’s yorkers kept on eluding the stumps and Robin Peterson finally edged a ball for four, bringing a lot of relief to the South African camp. Malinga’s four in four added spark to an otherwise dying match.