When it comes to easy access for the public, there’s no better venue than the Galle International Stadium. Once you hop off from the bus or the train, the iconic ground in the island is just a hop, step and a jump away.
The Oval in London is not too bad either. The London underground has a station dedicated to access England’s oldest Test ground called The Oval and the moment you come out of the station, you can see majestic pavilion of the venue that has brought sheer joy to Sri Lankan teams over the last 44 years.
The Sri Lankans will take on defending champions Australia in their World Cup fixture here at The Oval on Saturday and they will be hoping to add on fond memories.
The flat deck, fast outfield and the adoring fans have helped Sri Lanka to bring out their best here across all three formats of the game and it’s perhaps Sri Lanka’s most successful ground overseas along with Faisalabad in Pakistan.
Injuries, how badly they have affected Sri Lanka
Tuesday’s World Cup fixture between …….
Their most recent visit to The Oval was two years ago during the Champions Trophy. Against an Indian side on the rampage, Angelo Mathews’ men pulled off a stunning win, chasing down a target of 322, which remains the highest successful run chase at The Oval.
The specialty of that win was that victory was achieved thanks to Sri Lanka’s young guns and not the usual suspects. A 26-year-old Danushka Gunathilaka (76 in 72 balls) and a 22-year-old Kusal Mendis (89 off 93) were involved in a 159-run stand to lay the foundation of the victory. Both had hundreds for the taking, but lack of experience saw them being run out.
Then Angelo Mathews (52* in 45) and Kusal Perera (47 off 44) took the total up to 271. When KJP had to pull out with a hamstring injury, the game was still evenly poised with Sri Lanka needing 51 more runs to win. Then little heard of Asela Gunaratne played some of the most amazing shots you will ever see to take Sri Lanka through with seven wickets and eight balls to spare.
Gunaratne could do little wrong that day as he even swept Jasprit Bumrah for a six over square leg. His 34 came off just 21 balls with two fours and two sixes and there was satisfaction that the team had found an excellent finisher. Alas! Three weeks later, he broke his hand attempting a catch at slip during a Test match in Galle and hasn’t been able to rediscover his mojo. But that was some win. Achieved in style too.
One of Sri Lanka’s most famous overseas Test wins also came at The Oval. England and Wales Cricket Board had announced a two match Test series against Zimbabwe, who had gained Test status much later than Sri Lanka, while giving the reigning World Champions just one off Test in 1998. The team arrived in England angry and wanting to prove a point and over the next five days played outstanding cricket to record their maiden Test win on English soil.
Asela Gunarathne is an unbelievable player – Angelo Mathews
Sri Lanka posted 318 for 7 in 50 overs in its ………….
An airborne Sanath Jayasuriya cutting Angus Fraser over point for six remains one of the iconic images of the sport. He went onto get a double hundred with Aravinda de Silva complementing him with a big hundred. Muttiah Muralitharan then with nine wickets in the second innings triggered a famous collapse. The other batsman Alec Stewart was run out by Upul Chandana, who came up with a sensational direct hit. Murali walked away with 16 wickets in the game.
England coach David Lloyd, now a cricket commentator, questioned Murali’s bowling action and celebrated cricket writer Christopher Martin-Jenkins put it plainly calling it ‘sour grapes’. In response to Lloyd, Sri Lankan Manager Ranjit Fernando told the press that Murali would spin it on M4 – the highway that connects England and Wales.
Through their ten wicket win, the Sri Lankans had sent a strong message to Lord’s and soon England and Wales Cricket Board announced back to back three match Test series against Sri Lanka.
The semi-finals of the World T-20 in 2009 was played at The Oval and against West Indies the Sri Lankans stamped their authority with a 57-run win.
An unbeaten 96 from T.M. Dilshan had guided Sri Lanka to 157 for five and it was an on par score. Angelo Mathews then bowled a superb spell claiming the first three wickets in the first over of the innings and then Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan teamed up to claim five wickets between them.
Chris Gayle remained unbeaten on 63 but received little support from the rest of the batsmen. All ten remaining batsmen fell for single digit scores. After Gayle, the next best score was extras – 11.
Can the Sri Lankans pull off more magic at The Oval on Saturday?
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