Date-stamped : 19 Mar95 - 14:30 Sri Lanka v Australia, Test 1 Played at the SCC Colombo, 17,18,19,21,22 August 1992 Sri Lanka gave a first Test cap to Romesh Kaluwitharana, a 23- year-old batsman who keeps wicketand is a professional coach in Bangladesh. He was to prove one of the stars of an extraordinary match. Ranatunga won the toss and asked Australia to bat first on a pitch which offered some encouragement to tthe seam bowlers. Sri Lanka had immediate success when Moody fell to Ramanayake, but it was the gentle medium pace of Hathurusinghe which gave the home side their grip on the match. He claimed the wickets of Boon, Jones, Waugh and Border in the space of five overs, and, at 124 for 7, Australia were in despair. It was at this point that Sri Lanka, and Ranatunga, showed a lack of conviction and self-belief. A dearth of penetrative bowl- ing and some strangely defensive field-placings allowed Healy and McDermottt to halt the collapse. McDermott hit 22 off 28 balls, and Healy batted for more than three hours, hitting 8 fours in his unbeaten 66 and cajoling 132 runs from the last three wick- ets. Sri Lanka ended the day with nine runs without loss. Hathurusinghe added 15 to his overnight score before falling to the medium pace of Mark Waugh, but Mahanama and Gurusinha en- gaged in a partnership which was attractive and productive. Mahanama played with elegance and aggression. He batted for three hours, hit 13 boundaries and seemed destined for the Test century which has eluded him since his debut in 1984, when he was brilli- antly caught at the wicket by Healy. Aravinda de Silva went cheaply, but Ranatunga was again in belligerent mood. He took 29 off three overs from the leg-spinner Warne, including 3 sixes, to move to 69 by the close of play. Gurusinha was on 87, and Sri Lanka, 265 for 3, were in a commanding position. Both Gurusinha, who reached a thousand runs in Test cricket, and Ranatunga completed centuries on the third morning. Their partnership realised 230, only 10 runs short of their record fourth-wicket stand against Pakistan, 1985-6, and the second highest in Sri Lanka`s test history. Gurusinha, his con- fidence and concentration enhanced by his new contact lenses, made the highest of his four Test centuries and batted for nearly nine hours. His fellow left-hander Ranatunga hit his third Test hun- dred and played an innings full of blistering strokes. He batted for four-and-a-half hours and was out to a tired shot on the stroke of lunch. This brought in Atapattu who, having been padded up for the 266 minutes of the Gurusinha-Ranatunga stand, was out first ball. It was his third nought in his first three Test in- nings. So Romesh Kaluwitharana came to the wicket to play his first Test innings on a hat-trick. With vicious cuts and hooks he hit seven boundaries in his first 30 runs. In all, he hit 26 boundaries and was unbeaten on 132 when Ranatunga declared, Sri Lanka having passed 500 in a Test innings for the first time. Kaluwitharana`s runs came off only 158 balls. It was an astonishing Test debut. With a frist-innings deficit of 291, Australia were 26 for 0 when the game entered its rest day. The rest day was good for Australia, for it gave them time to reflect and regather. However honest, the Sri Lankan attack was far from lethal. Without Ratnayake and Labrooy it lacked pace, and the gentle seamers of Hathurusinghe were hardly likely to cause havoc for a second time. Nevertheless, Sri Lanka worked hard on the fourth day against batsmen who were determined to survive. The Sri Lankan cause was not helped by a plethora of no- balls, and the number of extras they conceded in the match -90- was to prove significant in deciding the outcome of the match. Moody went early in the day when he played over a ball from Ramanayake. Boon and Taylor added 66 before Taylor skied a ball from Anurasiri, the left-arm spinner, who also accounted for Boon after he had added 88 with Jones. Boon batted for 174 minutes and hit 10 fours. Sri Lankan joy continued when Jones, called for a quick single by Waugh, was run out by Gurusinha`s direct hit from square-leg. At tea, Australia were 253 for 4, but almost immediately after the break Border fell to a bat-pad catch to give Anurasiri his third wicket. Matthews showed real grit, and he gained able sup- port from McDermott after Healy had fallen to Hathurusinghe. Australia ended on 393 for 7, and Sri Lanka seemed to be in sight of a famous victory. The Australian resistance continued on the final morning, and Sri Lanka were left the task of scoring 181 runs in 58 overs to win the match. It was more than may have been anticipated, but it was not a difficult task. Mahanama and Hathurusinghe provided a solid start and although both fell in quick succession, Sri Lanka reached 127 for 2 - victory, it seemed, a formality. Aravinda de Silva had begun with effortless grace. He hit 7 fours and scored 37 from 32 balls before he hooked rashly at McDermott and was well caught at mid-on by Border who ran some 30 yards to take the catch. Sri Lanka had no need of such wildness, and de Silva`s shot heralded a sensational collapse. In 17.4 overs, they lost eight wickets for 37 runs, and Australia claimed a remarkable victory by 16 runs. The main destroyer of the Sri Lankans was Greg Matthews, the combative off-spinner who does not believe in defeat, although Warne eased his difficult entry into Test cricket by taking the last three wickets. Border`s imaginative and positive captaincy also did much to bring about Australia`s first Test victory in Asia for nine years, but, in truth, Sri Lanka`s pitiful batting was a major factor in deciding the match. Ranatunga could provide no example, and only Gurusinha offered the necessary determina- tion. The golden opportunity of a famous victory was thrown away by loss of nerve. Not for the first time had Sri Lanka revealed their inability to maintain their challenge for the full five days. Greg Matthews` all-round performance earned him the individual award. Thanks : B&H - Cricket Year, Sam Pudi for typing it out :) Contributed by nayak (adiking@*bradley.edu)