Aravinda

[zubinpepsi]

I came across this interview.. I was moved by his replies particulary for this qn.. Rex Clementine: Let?s talk about the 1996 World Cup. That was awesome. Those two vital knocks of yours in the semi-final and the final eventually helped us to win the championship. Aravinda De Silva: Every cricketer dreams of winning a World Cup. I am glad that we did it during our time. You say, I played a crucial role, but don?t forget that it was a collective effort. People say that Sanath, Arjuna (Ranatunga) and me won the World Cup for Sri Lanka. That?s a load of rubbish. There were eight others who contributed for us. There were small contributions that proved vital. Even Upul Chandana, who came in only as a substitute during the entire tournament, played his part in the form of a crucial run out. Someone like Asanka Gurusinghe hardly gets any credit. When I batted with him on numerous occasions during the tournament, he was instrumental in taking the pressure off me. For example, when we needed acceleration in the final, Asanka hit a boundary or two taking the pressure off me, allowing me to play my natural game. He took risks, I didn?t have to. That won us the World Cup and not my hundred. esp i like this one.. [\i] Gura (Gurusinghe) was sensational and he was a fighter to the core. Roshan Mahanama and Hashan Tillekeratne came up with important knocks as well. Then, someone like Romesh Kaluwitharana played a crucial role too. His stumping to dismiss Sachin in the semi-final was out of this world. Sachin was batting well at that stage and that was a crucial dismissal. It was a smart bit of reflexes. So, little things changed the complexions of games. It was a magnificent team effort. There were others like coach Dav Whatmore and physiotherapist Alex Kontouri too. Their efforts were sincere ones. Arjuna marshalled the troops admirably. He was ?Captain Marvellous?.

[Anakin]

Re: Aravinda Azhar's retarded decision to bat 2nd lost the match :mad:

[Predator_05]

Re: Aravinda

Azhar's retarded decision to bat 2nd lost the match :mad:

He had been advised against doing so by the curator, but it was supposedly a "team decision". Didn't seem that bad when SL lost their openers to Srinath in the first over ! Credit to Aravinda though; as his innings was unreal - on a pitch where no other batsman could put bat on ball (apart from Tendulkar on the Indian side) he hit boundary after boundary right from the moment he took strike. I'd say his innings was the difference between the two sides. Tendulkar's dismissal was vital as well; as he looked unbeatable during his 65.

[Lurker]

Re: Aravinda Good read. Thanks for sharing ZP. Arvinda is quite correct. Sri Lanka won that championship not merely due to contribution of Jaysurya, De Silva or Ranatunga but it was a wholesome team effort. When chips would be down someone would raise his hands and take over the responsibility. Players like Gurusingha, Mahanama, Murali etc were the unsung heroes of Sri Lankan victory. On an aside note De Silva's innings in semis against India was one of the best I have ever seen. I can not say anything better than I wish such an innings would be played by an Indian in this World Cup semis hopefully. xxx

[Ram]

Re: Aravinda we really cant blame azhar for batting first. Even Ranatunga has said that he would have batted first if he had won the toss..

[Cricketics]

Re: Aravinda

we really cant blame azhar for batting first. Even Ranatunga has said that he would have batted first if he had won the toss..

first or second???

[zubinpepsi]

Re: Aravinda

Good read. Thanks for sharing ZP. Arvinda is quite correct. Sri Lanka won that championship not merely due to contribution of Jaysurya, De Silva or Ranatunga but it was a wholesome team effort. When chips would be down someone would raise his hands and take over the responsibility. Players like Gurusingha, Mahanama, Murali etc were the unsung heroes of Sri Lankan victory. On an aside note De Silva's innings in semis against India was one of the best I have ever seen. I can not say anything better than I wish such an innings would be played by an Indian in this World Cup semis hopefully. xxx

welcome Lurk.. What is impressive in his stmt is how hegives credit to his team...eg. the point he made on Gurusingha is a good one.. how many ppl know n reme gurusingha... I think they had a very good team unity n team spirit n thts y they cud gel as a good team in those days.its true was arjuna said in his column tht they were like a family.. and tht tells u the dream success of their team in 1996s.. I have never seen such a team attitude in India before Ganguly's time. Only after the advent of ganguly's captaincy and some youngsters, I have seen some unity in the team.. I think we credit has to be given to ganguly for binding the team together.. Though we have some attitude players now, on the overall our team looks good with guys crediting others and believing in others in the team.. i thin this is one of the point greg is trying to get across in the team..