Sri Lanka's Victory in 1996 Cricket World Cup

It was a night of several ironies and coincidences. As Arjuna Ranatunga played his trademark late cut to guide the ball to the third man boundary, Tony Greig, the converted supporter of Sri Lanka’s cricket, couldn’t hide his joy. “That’s it. All the way, to the boundary for four; what a victory for the Sri Lankans….” he announced to the entire world. He was spot on. What a victory for the Sri Lankans it was.

Sri Lanka’s World Cup victory in 1996 is an unmatched achievement in her sporting annals. It was unbelievable. Who in their right mind would have imagined Sri Lanka winning the World Cup in 1996?The sweet irony of the whole story is the Australian contribution to Sri Lanka’s victory. In 1995, just before the World Cup, Sri Lanka had the rare fortune of touring Australia. It was the time when the Sri Lankan team was reaching its peak performances in years. They had already recorded their first test victory on foreign soil and had also done well in several limited over tournaments. Therefore, Sri Lanka became a prime target for Australian ‘psychological warfare.’ To the disappointment of the Aussies, they had met their match in the form of Arjuna Ranatunga.

In January 2013, almost all members of the world cup winning team took part in an exhibition T20 match between 1996 World Cup Champion team and the Sri Lanka Cricket Legends team. Once again, Ranatunga's 'boys' won the game. (Rukshan Abeywansha)

When the ‘no-ball’ allegations were brought against Muttiah Muralitharan, Ranatunga rallied his team for the defence of his ace spinner, and the whole nation followed him. With the whole team and the nation united against the ‘common opposition,’ Sri Lanka became even a stronger threat than she used to be. All divisions evaporated in the face of this blatant challenge to an upcoming star.

Sri Lankan cricket team was not doing well initially in the Benson and Hedges World Series during this tour. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Desperate for a new strategy, the Sri Lankan team asked Romesh Kaluvitharana to open batting with Sanath Jayasuriya and sent Roshan Mahanama down the order. This surprise move proved to be a masterstroke of strategy. The duo Sanath (“master blaster”) and Kalu (“the little dynamite”) entirely transformed one day cricket. What they initiated in Australia came to a zenith during the World Cup a few weeks later. In doing so, they won many admirers, among them Tony Greig. Meanwhile, Mahanama, who was struggling at the top order, found his form back and gave added stability to the middle order.

With the attack on Murali unsuccessful, Australia launched another campaign to smear Sri Lanka’s reputation. Citing security reasons, Australia and West Indies refused to come to Sri Lanka to compete with the local team during the preliminary round in the World cup. The Central bank bombing helped them to press the issue. But the Indian and Pakistani authorities came to Sri Lanka’s assistance, sending a joint team to play an exhibition match to prove that the Australian allegations were baseless. This was a rare case of South Asian solidarity, in the face of a “common opponent.”

Pakistan had a grudge against the Australians. In 1994, when their team was in top form, it was three Australian players who brought allegations of match fixing against the then Pakistani captain, Saleem Malik. This ended the team’s good fortunes for a few years to come. In this way, Australia may have helped the Sri Lankan cause. If Pakistan had kept on their good form, they had a very good chance of repeating their success of 1992, especially as the tournament was being played in the subcontinent.

After cruising along the first round, thrashing the mighty Indians and the hapless Kenyans on the way, Sri Lanka pulled out a spectacular victory in the first Semi Final against India at Eden Gardens. After losing both the opening pair and Asanka Gurusinghe cheaply, they found a hero in Aravinda De Silva. He played some elegant boundaries and faced up to the challenge as if his team had lost no wickets. Ranatunga and Mahanama steered the middle order once again. Under the lights, Indians started well, but after Tendulkar was dismissed, things turned upside down. Jayasuriya, who failed with the bat, was making amends with the ball and in the field as he captured three wickets for twelve and took two catches. This performance earned him the Most Valuable Player award for the tournament even before the final.

Ironically, the second Semi Final was to be played between the two teams who had refused to come to Sri Lanka for the first round matches. As the Australian captain remarked, the West Indians won 95 percent of the match but lost it in the end. Therefore, Sri Lanka was destined to play their ‘arch enemy’ in the final at Lahore.

This match must have been the only major instance when the Pakistanis packed into a cricket stadium to support another team. Sri Lankans must have never felt that they were playing in foreign soil. The images of those supporters, carrying Sri Lankan flags and cheering the players on was a once in a life time experience. If the opposition was not Australia, this support would not have been this intense. By getting selected to the final the Aussies had ensured total crowd support to Sri Lanka. They had lost half the match even before it got underway.

They lost the other half when Aravinda De Silva joined the solid Gurusinghe in the Sri Lankan reply to Australia’s 241/7. The explosive opening pair had been sent back to the pavilion very early in the innings but Gurusinghe and De Silva had no plans of following their example soon. They built a steady partnership. Dew started falling, which made fielding a very hard endeavour. All bowlers, including Shane Warne, were given the same treatment. After Gurusinghe’s dismissal the captain came to the middle and guided his team to victory with his deputy. De Silva scored a memorable century and Ranatunga scored the winning runs. This was the culmination of a difficult voyage which started abruptly on Boxing Day 1995, when an Australian umpire called Murali for chucking. With their “psychological warfare” against both Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Australians gave unintended assistance to Sri Lanka to lift the World Cup in 1996.

Two Match Saving Innings of 96 each and the Ramanayakes

I had a chance to watch the 135th Battle of the Blues, the annual Royal-Thomian encounter, only on its third and final day. Royal started the day in dire straits and needed a royal innings to save the day and the match. Hashen Ramanayake, the versatile all-rounder who is a key player with both bat and ball was there to play the anchor role. He was amply supported by all the batsmen on the last day, especially Randev Pathirana, who made sure that he held his wicket like the rock of Gibraltar. The day ended, with Royal earning all the glory of the third day.

Hashen Ramanayake (R) and Randev Pathirana made a key partnership for Royal (Rukshan Abeywansha)

Before Pathirana was run out for 23 from 154 balls, it was slow going for Royal. But captain Chamika Karunaratne who replaced Pathirana, speeded things up. When he was eventually dismissed for a well made 35 off 52 balls faced, Ramanayake was inching towards his century. In came wicketkeeper batsman Thiran Dhanapala, who had been part of the epic 9th wicket partnership that had helped Royal to reach a respectable total in the first innings. He started hammering Thomian bowling all over the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) ground.

However, when Ramanayake was on 96, Dhanapala scored a boundary, which proved to be sadly unfortunate. Thinking that Ramanayake had scored it, some fans came to the middle of the pitch. By the time the fans were made to leave the ground, it was getting dark. Ramanayake was dismissed a few bowls later for 96, and the match ended as the fans entered the ground once again.

That night, hinking about the innings, I was suddenly reminded of another innings of 96, which I saw 22 years ago on TV. It was the 1992 Australian tour of Sri Lanka, and as a very small kid, it was the first tour by a foreign test cricket team that I remembered vividly. We had handed over the first test on a platter to the Aussies at SSC and were deprived of a win in the second test by rain. The third test was played at Moratuwa.

In a match frequently hindered by rain on the last three days, the Aussies had put on a first innings lead of 63 runs in this match. In the second innings, the Aussie top order was bundled out very cheaply by Sri Lankan pace bowlers and soon they were four wickets down for just nine runs. When Dean Jones lost his wicket, they were still at 60. Another wicket or two at that crucial time would have almost been curtains for them. But Aussie captain Alan Border was joined in the middle by one of the most colourful of the Aussie players, Greg Matthews. After Border was dismissed, he and Ian Healy made a superb eighth wicket partnership which deprived any chance of victory for the Sri Lankans. By the last session of the fifth day, the match had lost any meaning. Australia played the game till the end so that Mathews could score his century. But, when he was on 96, Matthews was clean bowled and the match ended there.

Yesterday I remembered Greg Matthew’s 96 for another reason. It was Champaka Ramanayake, Hashen’s father, who bowled Matthews.

Cricket, as they say, is a strange game.

Exploring Singapura 02: The Unexpected Friend in Chinatown

Chinatown in Singapore has an underground MRT station on the North East Line of the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Grid. To reach the famous Chinatown market, one has to take the Exit A of the station. I was never prepared for the sight which appeared in front of me as I emerged from underground. The last escalator virtually ‘drops’ you on the Pagoda Street, the ‘baseline’ of the Chinatown Street Market. The first thing which attracted my eyes was the red and yellow colored Chinese lanterns. But, it was just the tip of the iceberg. As I emerged, the street gradually came to view. Glowing with the late morning sunshine, it was an exquisite display of color, people and activity. It was my first moment of serendipity in Chinatown.

A part of my mind wanted me to return underground in the adjoining escalator, so that I could climb again to see the spectacle of the emergence of Pagoda Street. But, the sights of the street proved to be a more powerful attraction, and I was pulled towards it without delay.

First impression upon arriving from the MRT station

Pagoda Street lies between the New Bridge Road, which is closer to the MRT station Exit A, and the South Bridge Road. Half way from North Bridge Road, there is Trengannu Street which leads to Sago Street. These three streets together constitute the Chinatown Street Market. From Chinatown, it is walking distance to the center of Tanjon Pagar, which is perhaps the only constituency in the world which has been represented (albeit under different electoral systems) by the same parliamentarian continuously from 1955. This MP is Lee Kuan Yew, the ‘Father of Singapore.’

Visiting the Chinatown Heritage Center in Pagoda Street would help you learn the story of early settlers of Singapore, who undertook a perilous journey to reach their new homeland and struggled hard to make ends meet in this homeland. Chinatown is testament to the success of Lee Kuan Yew. Today, the market is a busy place where both locals and tourists mingle and shop, and a variety of goods are bought and sold.

Shopping in Chinatown can sometimes mislead the inexperienced. From the very first shop, there are things to buy, including exquisite ornaments, clothes and other items. It is better to explore the market and then decide on what to buy. Certainly, there will be something to buy for your family, friends or anyone else.

I learned that Chinatown, which is usually lively, becomes even livelier during the Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival. A traditional harvest celebration, the Mid-Autumn Festival starts on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar and continues for the next four weeks. Meanwhile the Chinese New Year is the biggest event in Chinese culture and it is celebrated by all Chinese anywhere in the world. Singapore is no exception.

One thing that I could not do at Chinatown was trying out the food. There are a number of food outlets where one can try out seafood and other Chinese delicacies. Some of them are in the Street Market itself but there are many more food outlets outside the market area.

 

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, Singapore

An interesting place that we encountered at Chinatown was the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. This is a large, beautiful temple of Mahayana Buddhism where we could see a few pilgrims and many more tourists. This was built to house a relic which the Mahayana Buddhists believe to be a Tooth Relic of Buddha. The name of the temple obviously caught my attention as it reminded me of the Sri Dalada Maligawa, or the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy.

However, what surprised me the most was someone I never expected to find in Chinatown, Tintin. Pagoda Street is the location of the Tintin Shop in Singapore. Being a Tintin fan of more than 15 years, I experienced my second moment of serendipity at Chinatown when I saw the place.

Walking around the shop, I was fascinated by the memorabilia arranged meticulously. There were postcards, greetings cards, figurines and many more memorabilia. Television screens in the shop were showing episodes of Tintin’s adventures. The prices were beyond my almost empty pocket, but the shop is ideal for Tintin fans who can spend some money.

 

Tintin Shop, Singapore

Speaking with the pretty salesgirl at the counter, I learned that the Tintin shop in Chinatown had been opened on December 18, 2010. It was unique since there were only seven Tintin Shops around the world. She told me that business was good as there was considerable response from the Western tourists who visit Chinatown. She explained that Tintin was not much of a local hero, but a European one. There was no particular reason for the shop to be in Chinatown, but obviously, the fact that Chinatown is a main tourist attraction must be helpful.

I have found bits of many countries in Singapore. But, what surprised me most was finding a part of Europe residing permanently in the middle of Chinatown.

Taras Shevchenko, the Ukrainian Kobzar

As a child, Taras Shevchenko received little formal education. At any rate, his education was clearly less than what is received by many children around the world. Born to parents who were serfs, Taras was 24 years a serf. He spent only one fourth of his relatively short life of 47 years as a free man. Nevertheless, this largely self educated former serf became the ‘headmaster’ of Ukrainian literature and also enriched modern Ukrainian language more than any writer.

Self portrait as a soldier (1847)

In Ukraine Taras Shevchenko is a national hero. Due to the prevailing political tension between Ukraine and Russia, his Bicentenary on March 9, 2014 was swamped by politics. Many Ukrainians remembered Taras Shevchenko the patriot, not Taras Shevchenko the poet.

Shevchenko was born on March 9, 1814 in Moryntsi, a small village in Central Ukraine. His parents were serfs and therefore, Taras was a serf by birth. At the age of eight, he received some lessons from the local Precentor (person who facilitated worshippers at the Church) and was introduced to Ukrainian literature. His childhood was miserable as the family was poor. Hard work and poverty ate up the lives of the family and Taras’s mother died when he was nine. His father remarried and the stepmother treated Taras very badly. Two years later, Taras’s father also passed away.

The 19th century Russian Empire was largely feudal, Saint Petersburg being the exception. It was the door to the West. Shevchenko’s lucky break in life came when his landlord left for Saint Petersburg, taking his serf with him. Since Taras had shown some merit as a painter, his landlord sent him to learn painting with a master. It was fashionable for a landlord to have a court painter. However, through his teacher, Shevchenko met other famous artists. Impressed by the artistic and literary merit of the young serf, they decided to raise money to buy his freedom. In 1838, Taras Shevchenko became a free man.

Two years later, his collection of poetry, Kobzar, was published, giving him instant fame. A kobzar is a Ukrainian string instrument and a bard who plays it is also known as a Kobzar. Taras Shevchenko came to be known as Kobzar after the publication of his collection. He was speaking of the plight of his people in his language, not through music, but poetry. However, since there were restrictions in publishing books in Ukrainian, the book had to be published outside Russia.

 

Gypsy Fortune Teller (1841)

Shevchenko continued to write and paint, showing considerable merit in both. In 1845, he wrote “My Testament” which is perhaps his best known work. In his poem, he begs the reader to bury him in his native Ukraine after he dies. His immense love for the land of his birth is epitomized in these verses. Later, he wrote another memorable piece, “The Dream”, in which expresses his dream of a day when all the serfs are free. Sadly, Taras Shevchenko died just a week before this dream was realized in 1861.

Taras lived a free man until 1847 when he was arrested for being a member of a secret organization, Brotherhood of St Cyril and Methodius. He was imprisoned in Saint Petersburg and later banished as a private with the Russian military to Orenburg garrison. He was not to be allowed to read and paint, but his overseers hardly enforced this edict. After Czar Nicholas II died in 1855, he received a pardon in 1857, but was initially not allowed to return to Saint Petersburg. He was however, allowed to return to his native Ukraine. He returned to Saint Petersburg and died there on March 10, 1861, a day after the 47th birthday. Originally buried there, his remains were brought to Ukraine and buried in Kaniv, in a place now known as Taras Hill. The site became a symbol of Ukrainian nationalism. In 1978, an engineer named Oleksa Hirnyk burned himself in protest to what he called the suppression of Ukrainian history, language and culture by the Soviet authorities.

 

The first edition of Kobzar (1840)

Ironically, Taras Shevchenko was considered a hero by the Soviet regime as an anti-Czarist literary figure. In 1939, Saint Vladimir University of Kyiv was renamed as Taras Shevchenko University. In 1951, a Soviet Drama film on his life was released. MS Taras Shevchenko was a 1967 cruise ship owned by the Black Sea Shipping Company of the Soviet Union.

Testament (Zapovit)

When I am dead, bury me
In my beloved Ukraine,
My tomb upon a grave mound high
Amid the spreading plain,
So that the fields, the boundless steppes,
The Dnieper's plunging shore
My eyes could see, my ears could hear
The mighty river roar.

When from Ukraine the Dnieper bears
Into the deep blue sea
The blood of foes ... then will I leave
These hills and fertile fields --
I'll leave them all and fly away
To the abode of God,
And then I'll pray .... But until that day
I nothing know of God.

Oh bury me, then rise ye up
And break your heavy chains
And water with the tyrants' blood
The freedom you have gained.
And in the great new family,
The family of the free,
With softly spoken, kindly word
Remember also me.

-Translated by John Weir, Toronto, 1961