Four run - outs caused the downfall...

Sri Lanka lost to India in Asia Cup final 1988

By A.C. de Silva

CRICKET: It was slightly over 17 years ago when former champs India reasserted their superiority in limited-overs cricket and routed Sri Lanka by six wickets in Dhaka to win the Asia Cup on that historic day - November 4th in 1988.

Like this year, Sri Lankans came into the final with an all win record including two league wins against India and Pakistan, but lost the initiative then in the final after being bowled out for a meagre 176 in 43.2 overs.

Sri Lanka is in the final this year as well and what will be in the minds of all Sri Lanka supporters will be whether fortune will smile on the Sri Lankans this time and they will be able to keep the Asia Cup which they are holding on to.

The tournament reaches its climax today with Sri Lanka meeting either India or Pakistan in the all important final. So far Sri Lanka has won four successive games, beating the other two top teams - India and Pakistan.

Sri Lanka’s last win against Bangladesh was fashioned out by vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara and veteran Sanath Jayasuriya with both scoring centuries in helping Sri Lanka to pile up a massive 332 for 8 wickets from their 50 overs. Then the Sri Lankans did well to bundle out Bangladesh for 174 in 38.4 overs.

Jayasuriya celebrated his 39th birthday and got himself a gift in 130 and Sangakkara got 121.

It was Jayasuriya’s fifth Asia Cup century and with his able partner Sangakkara, the pair put on the first double-century opening stand of 201 runs against Bangladesh, improving on the previous best of 191 runs between Jayasuriya and Avishka Gunewardena against Bangladesh at the R. Premadasa Stadium in 2004.

But Sri Lanka cannot take things for granted and they will be wise to go flat-out in the final.

In 1988 when Sri Lanka met India in the final, India romped home with nearly eight overs to spare aided by a fantastic knock of 76 off 87 balls from opener Novjot Sidhu in front of a capacity crowd of 50.000 at the National Stadium. India made 180 for 4 wickets in reply to Sri Lanka’s 176 all out. Beside Sidhu there was also Dilip Vengsarkar who made 50 not out and helped Sidhu in forging ahead to win.

India who won the inaugural tourney in Sharjah in 1984, but did not participate in the second event in Colombo two years later, stopped Sri Lanka’s winning sequence with their all-round performance.

Bangladesh President Hussain Mohammed Ershad presented the Asia Cup and a winners purse of 30.000 dollars to Indian captain Dilip Vengsarkar, who contributed to his team’s emphatic victory with that polished unbeaten half century.

Sri Lanka’s Arjuna Ranatunga received the runners-up cheque of Rs. 15,000 dollars. Sidhu who fired in two attractive half-centuries in earlier games against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, was named man of the tournament.

Like this year, the Sri Lankans came into the final with an all win record including two league wins against India and Pakistan, but lost the initiative in the final after being bowled out for meagre 176 in 43.2 overs.

India began briskly with openers Krish Srikkantha and Sidhu putting on 45 runs in just 9 overs before Srikkantha was run out for 23 after that opening stand of 45 runs and India pulled through to win.

Earlier Sri Lanka’s famed running between the wickets for once let them down as the defending champions lost their last eight wickets for 79 runs after openers Brendon Kuruppu and Roshan Mahanama put on 53 runs in 13.2 over for the first wicket.

Aravinda de Silva, Ranatunga, Athula Samarasekera and Ravi Ratnayake were run out, attempting quick runs and sometimes non-existent runs in the face of good fielding by the Indians.

The experienced Duleep Mendis partially stemmed the rot hitting 36 of 36 balls which including three fours and six over long-on against left-arm spinner Ajay Sharma.

Part-time spinner Srikkanth was India’s most successful bowler, claiming 3 wickets for 12 runs in 3.2 overs. Kapil Dev, Mohinder Amarnath and Maninder Singh earned one wicket each to keep the pressure on the Sri Lankan batsmen.

SRI LANKA
Roshan Mahanama Ibw b Amarnath		23
Brendon Kuruppu St. Pandit b Maninder	21
Athula Samarasekera run out		26
Aravinda de Silva run out		18
Arjuna Ranatunga run out	 	 5
Duleep Mendis c Pandit b Srikkanth	36
Ravi Ratnayake run out 	 		 7
Uvaisul Karnain c Pandit b Srikkanth	11
Graeme Labrooy b Kapil Dev	 	 1
Ranjit Madurusinghe b Srikkanth	 	 2
Kapila, Wijegunawardena not out	 	 8
EXTRAS: (LB6, W-7, NB-5)		18
TOTAL: (all out in 43.2 overs)		176
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-53, 2-57, 3-97, 4-105, 5-113, 6-130, 7-164, 8-165, 9-166.
BOWLING: Kapil Dev 7-0-29-1, Sanjeev Sharma 5-0-20-0, Mohinder Amarnath 6-0-21-1, 
Maninder Singh 9-0-35-1, Arshad Ayub 9-0-21-0, Ajaj Sharma 4-0-20-0, Krishnamachari Srikkanth 3.2-0-12-3.

INDIA
Krishnamachari Srikkanth run out 	23
Novjot Sidhu b Wijegunawardena 		76
M. Amarnath c Kuruppu b Madurasinghe 	 7
Dilip Vengsarkar not out 		50
Azharuddin c Kuruppu b Wijegunawardena 	 0
Kapil Dev not out 			12
EXTRAS:(b-1, 1b 6, w-2, nb-3) 		12
TOTAL:(4 wkts in 37.4 overs) 		180

DID NOT BAT:Ajay Sharma, C. Pandit, Sanjeev Sharma, Arshad Ayub, Maninder Singh.
FALL OF WICKETS:1-45, 2-69, 3-155, 4-155.
BOWLING: Ravi Ratnayake 9-1-35-0, Graeme Labrooy 5-0-30-0, A. Ranatunga 1-0-12-0, 
Ranjit Madurasinghe 9-0-31-1, A. de Silva 4-0-26-0, K. Wijegunawardena 9-1-30-2, R. Mahanama 0.1-0-4-0.

Sri Lanka beat both India and Pakistan

CRICKET: In earlier matches, Sri Lanka did it. The Lankans beat both India and Pakistan within the space of three days in the 1988 tourney of the Asia Cup. Sri Lanka’s batting carried them through with Athula Samarasekera (66), Aravinda de Silva (69) and Arjuna Ranatunga (49 not out) paved the way for Sri Lanka to make 271 for 6 wickets in 45 overs. Kapil Dev was the most successful Indian bowler with 2 for 39 in 9 overs. India were dismissed for 254 runs in 44 overs. Navjot Sidhu was among in the runs, making 50.

Kapila Wijegunawardene was the most successful Sri Lankan bowler with 4 for 49 and Ranatunga had 2 for 27.
 

SRI LANKA
R. Mahanama lbw b Mohinder	 	21
B. Kuruppu b Sanjeev Sharma	 	16
A. Samarasekera b Srikkanth	 	66
A. de Silva lbw b Arshad Ayub	 	69
A. Ranatunga not out 	 		49
D. Mendis c Mohinder b Kapil Dev	19
R. Ratnayake b Kapil Dev	 	16
H. Tillekeratne not out	  		 2
EXTRAS: (lb-9, w-1, nb-3)	 	13
TOTAL (for 6 wkts in 45 overs)		271
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-35, 2-52, 3-178, 4-184, 5-216, 6-269.
BOWLING: Kapil Dev 9-0-39-2, Sanjeev Sharma 8-1-44-1, Mohinder Amarnath 4-0-27-1, 
Maninder Singh 5-0-22-0, N. Hirwani 4-0-38-0, Arshad Ayub 9-0-58-1, Srikkanth 6-0-30-1.
INDIA
K. Srikkanth c Mahanama b Ranatunga	 	 42
N. Sidhu c Kuruppu b Ranatunga	 		 50
M. Amarnath run out	 			 31
D. Vengsarkar c Wijegunawardene b de Silva	 34
Kapil Dev lb b Wijegunawardene	  		  7
M. Azharuddin c Madurasinghe b Ratnayake 	 34
M. More c Ratnayake b Wijegunawardene	  	  6
A. Ayub run out	  				  9
S. Sharma c Tilakaratne b Wijegunawardene	 28
Maninder Singh c De Silva b Wijegunawardene	  7
N. Hirwani not out	  			  1
EXTRAS: (lb-2, w-3, nb-1)	  		  5
TOTAL: (in 44 overs)				254
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-89, 2-96, 3-146, 4-166, 5-167, 6-182, 7-195, 8-224, 9-252.
BOWLING: R. Ratnayake 8-0-47-1, Ramanayake 8-0-36-0, Wijegunawardene 9-0-45-4, 
Samarasekera 2-0-17-0, Ranatunga 5-0-27-2, Madurasinghe 6-0-41-0, A. de Silva 6-0-36-1.  - A. C. de S

Lankans through

CRICKET: Sri Lanka were through by five wickets when they played against Pakistan. Pakistan batted first and made 194 for 7 wickets with Ejaz Ahmed making 54, Javed Miandad retiring with 25, Salim Malik 30, Salim Yousuf 31.

Graeme Labrooy had 3 for 36, Ravi Ratnayake 2 for 27, Kapila Wijegunawardana 2 for 29.

Sri Lanka made it, getting 195 for 5 wickets in 38.4 overs.