All true cricket lovers must watch at least one day’s cricket at Eden Gardens in Calcutta, one of India’s five main cricketing hubs alongside Madras, Bombay, Bangalore and Delhi. Facilities at Eden Gardens is nowhere near what you get at Pallekele, Galle or RPS, but the sheer atmosphere there makes it an unforgettable experience.
As former Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore once said, when the team bus drove into the ground for the semi-finals of the 1996 World Cup, he felt as if there were 110,000 spectators inside the ground and 110,000 outside it. This, mind you, some three hours before the start of play. It was on a day like yesterday – 13th March 1996 – that Sri Lanka overcame India to qualify for the finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup. Romesh Kaluwitharana pulling off a stunning stumping to dismiss India’s star batsman Sachin Tendulkar will remain in the memories of local cricket fans for many years to come.
Video – ජනතාවගේ ආදරය දිනාගත් Little කළු – රොමේෂ් කළුවිතාරණ
1990 වසරේ දී පළමු වතාවට ශ්රී ලංකා ජාතික ක්රිකට් කණ්ඩායම නියෝජනය කිරීමට වරම් දිනා ගත් රොමේෂ් කළුවිතාරණ…….
There has been some smart glove work by some fine wicketkeepers produced by Sri Lanka. Prasanna Jayawardene took stumping to a new level while many consider Mahes Goonatilleke to be the best stumper produced by Sri Lanka. Why Kaluwitharana’s stumping ranks ahead of all others is because of a couple of facts. Mainly it was the context, a World Cup semi-final. Secondly, of course it was Sachin Tendulkar, the world’s best batsman at that point. Thirdly, that game was drifting away from Sri Lanka.
Kalu himself told our Legends programme that when Sachin was out in the middle, it looked as if he was batting on a different surface. Once he was dismissed, on a crumbling wicket, the rest of the Indian batting failed to live up to expectations.
In the mid 90s, Kalu wasn’t the best wicketkeeper in Sri Lanka. His contemporaries like Gamini Wickramasinghe, Chamara Dunushinghe and Lanka De Silva were more accomplished cricketers behind the stumps than little Kalu. What won Kalu the nod over the others was his batting – aggressive and punishing – he could put the bowling to the sword in double quick time.
It was the trend in mid 90s started by England. Alec Stewart wasn’t England’s best wicketkeeper but he was picked ahead of others due to his batting prowess and other teams followed suit. That is why Moin Khan was preferred over Rashid Latif in Pakistan and Australia sidelined Ian Healy and fast-tracked Adam Gilchrist. Sri Lanka is no different.
Every time Kalu got the axe was because he had spilled a series of catches. But he improved remarkably and in each comeback, he had made giant strides with his glove work.
The stumping of Sachin was a class act. Chasing Sri Lanka’s modest 251, India were cruising at 98 for one with Sachin unbeaten on 65. Sanath Jayasuriya fired one down the leg-side, Sachin had attempted a flick and clueless where the ball had headed, he instinctively lifted his back leg attempting a single. Kalu was quick to grab the golden opportunity as he effected the stumping down the leg-side. There was pin-drop silence at Eden Gardens when Sachin was given out by third umpire Mahboob Shah of Pakistan. Sachin and the Indian fans had been waiting in vain for the inevitable as it was crystal clear that he was gone.
Kalu performed one of the toughest jobs in world cricket – keeping wickets to Murali. Muralitharan armed with the doosra was doubly effective and the wicketkeeper had to be on the money all the time as there would be frequent wicket taking deliveries.
Video – ලොව අංක 1 ටෙස්ට් පිතිකරුවා වූ පළමු ශ්රී ලාංකිකයා – කුමාර් සංගක්කාර
2000 වසරේ දී පළමු වතාවට ශ්රී ලංකා ජාතික ක්රිකට් කණ්ඩායම නියෝජනය කිරීමට වරම් දිනා ගත් කුමාර් සංගක්කාර…..
By his own admission, after numerous comebacks, it dawned onto Kalu that his time was up once the flamboyant Kumar Sangakkara hit the scene. Sanga in the early days was despised by fans as people loved Kalu so much. It wasn’t just his cricketing exploits that made people fall in love with the Moratuwaite. His mannerisms were picked up by the young and old. Popular slogans like, ‘ohoma yan’, and ‘allaganna’ are still frequently heard on the cricketing field.
Kalu took up coaching after retiring and made giant strides during his tenure with Sri Lanka ‘A’. Changes in coaching structure saw him being given the elbow. He was moved into selection, a position he accepted reluctantly, insisting that he was more at home coaching than selecting. His tenure as a selector came to an end following Sri Lanka’s humiliating 5-0 drubbing at the hands of India in 2017.
At present, Kalu has got little to do with cricket and he has channeled all his energy to the hospitality industry. Kalu’s hideaway, a stone’s throw away from the Udawalawa National Park is a popular attraction among both local and foreign tourists. The chances of you meeting this iconic cricketer and god fearing human being for a chat at this relaxing destination are pretty high over the weekend.
