There’s method in madness

Greatest moment His greatest World Cup moment also happens to be his country’s. Dateline: ...

Greatest moment

His greatest World Cup moment also happens to be his country’s. Dateline: Lahore, March 17, 1999. Match: Final of the World Cup against Australia. Scene: Lankans needing to score 242 for the title are 23 for two. In walks Aravinda and without a care in the world plays like as if it is a Sunday club game. Treating Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne like school boys at practice nets, he scores 107 from 124 balls. With skipper Arjuna for company he helps the Islanders couquer the world.

Aravinda de Silva is known to have a passion for fast cars and that quite easily explains his attitude towards batting. During his initiation days in international cricket, the world rather prematurely gave him the tag of ‘Mad Max’ for frenzied but risky style of batting. But somehow over the years that nickname vanished. A matured Aravinda remained a destroyer but the madness had a method. Today his strokes draw comparisons to a skillful surgeon and doesn’t remind one of a handyman. Said to be the best batsman to emerge out of the Emerald Island in their 20-year history, Aravinda will be playing his fifth World Cup at South Africa.

Did you know?

• Once Arjuna Ranatunga refused to lead the side as Aravinda was dropped.
• Aravinda never believes in practising at nets. All through the 1996 World Cup, where he won four Man of the Match awards, he batted at nets only once.
• It was once alleged that an Indian bookie paid $1,00,000 to a woman in Brisbane, who had Aravinda’s love child.

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Out of the side in the aftermath of Lanka’s disastrous outing in the last edition of Cup, now is back to his old self to play his final Cup. He is the third highest run-scorer in ODI history and the World Cup will see him complete two milestones: Playing 300 one-dayers and claiming 100 wickets. It is said that Aravinda’s growth is parallel to that of Aravinda. A fitter and leaner all-rounder at World Cup might give the Islanders a push at South Africa which they desperately need.

HEAD TO HEAD

The true wickets of South Africa will be ideal for Aravinda’s brand of run making. Balls that come on to the bat with even and nice bounce are something that the free-flowing batter would love.

WEST INDIES:
The contest between left-arm pacer Pedro Collins and Aravinda would be interesting. Aravinda could fall for Collins’ away-going balls while driving but anything short the Lankan batsman is sure to pull or hook.

NEW ZEALAND:
If the openers take care of Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffy, Aravinda may have to deal with the deceptively quick Andre Adams. Playing square to the wicket might be difficult to the dead accurate Adams but anything on legs wouldn’t go unpunished.

SOUTH AFRICA:
His duel with Jacques Kallis is the clash of two veteran all-rounders. Aravinda’s exquisite cover drive vs the quick in-cutters of Kallis. If the Lankan gauges the pace and bounce of the wicekt, it’ll straight to the fence and if not it will pass through the bat and pad and hit the stumps.