3 times Dhananjaya de Silva saved Sri Lanka from a difficult situation
Sri Lanka (SL) and Afghanistan played out a memorable Asia Cup contest at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Tuesday, September 5. With Afghanistan needing to chase down Sri Lanka's total of 291 in 37.1 overs to qualify for the playoffs, it all came down to the last over.
Dhananjaya de Silva stepped up to bowl the pressure over and won the game for Sri Lanka, although Afghanistan being unaware they still had a chance ended up costing them.
The Sri Lankan all-rounder is an integral part of the side in all three formats and has bailed them out of many tough situations with the bat and the ball since he made his debut in July 2015.
As Dhananjaya de Silva celebrates his 32nd birthday today (September 6), let's look at three times he saved Sri Lanka from a tough situation.
#3 33, 109, and 1/15 vs Pakistan (Test), Galle, 2022
Dhananjaya de Silva is one of the most technically solid players in the Sri Lankan side, and it's only natural that he excelled as a batter in Test cricket. He has 10 Test 100s to his name, out of which an important one came in the second innings of the second Test in Pakistan's tour of Sri Lanka in 2022.
After Pakistan went 1-0 up in the two-match series, the hosts were determined to level the series and did so. After winning the toss and opting to bat first, SL made 378 runs, with contributions from almost everyone in the batting order, including de Silva, who made 33 runs.
He also picked up the big wicket of Imam-ul-Haq as Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis spun a web around the Pakistan batters, bowling them out for 231.
As Sri Lanka looked to build on their first-innings lead, they were in trouble at 117/5 when de Silva walked to the crease. However, the all-rounder played a superb knock of 109, building partnerships with Dimuth Karunaratne, Dunith Wellalage, and Ramesh Mendis to take Sri Lanka to a total of 360/8.
Pakistan couldn't withstand the might of the SL spinners in the second innings and was bowled out for 261, losing by 246 runs, with Dhananjaya de Silva named the Player of the Match (POTM) for his crucial knock.
#2 31 (26) and 2/22 vs South Africa (T20I), Colombo, 2018
One of Dhananjaya de Silva's most important all-round efforts came in a one-off T20I during South Africa's 2018 tour of Sri Lanka in August 2018. Having won the Test series 2-0 and lost 2-3 in the ODIs, it was a decent home tour for Sri Lanka, who wanted to close it out with a win in the T20I at Colombo.
South Africa opted to bat first on a wicket that would make for a low-scoring contest. While a few batters got off to a start, the Sri Lankan spinners were onto them in a flash. De Silva opened the bowling and picked up two big wickets of Hashim Amla and Reeza Hendricks, besides also playing a part in running Quinton de Kock out.
Set a low target of 99, Kagiso Rabada rattled Sri Lanka early, removing both the openers in the first over. However, de Silva and Angelo Matthews' 53-run partnership helped steady things enough for Sri Lanka to reach home safely.
De Silva's batting and bowling efforts rightfully earned him the POTM award.
#1 60 (61) and 2/39 vs Australia (ODI), Colombo, 2022
It's surprising that one of Dhananjaya de Silva's best all-round performances didn't earn him the POTM award.
One of Sri Lanka cricket's most memorable series in recent times was when Australia visited them in June 2022 during a time when the country was in an acute economic crisis. They beat the Aussies 3-2 in the five-match ODI series, and de Silva played a crucial role in securing the win in the series-deciding match.
Sri Lanka had a 2-1 lead in the series heading into the fourth match at Colombo. Put into bat by Australia, SL were immediately in trouble after getting reduced to 34/3 in the 10th over. Dhananjaya de Silva and No. 5 batter Charith Asalanka joined forces to bail them out and put on a 101-run stand off only 99 balls before the former was dismissed after scoring 60 (61).
Asalanka batted brilliantly to convert his start into a century, taking Sri Lanka to a good total of 258. In their reply, despite losing wickets, Australia were pretty comfortable in their run chase, with David Warner going strongly from one end.
However, with the score at 189/4 in the 36th over, de Silva struck to remove the well-set Travis Head before returning in his next over to dismiss David Warner, who was on 99, completely turning the game on its head.
While the Aussies still had some fight left in them, they eventually fell four runs short of the target, with de Silva finishing with excellent figures of 2/39 in 10 overs. While Asalanka won the POTM award for his hundred, Sri Lanka would've lost that match had it not been for Dhananjaya de Silva's contributions.