Published: Feb 05, 2011, 03:14 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 28, 2014, 08:01 PM (IST)
By CricketCountry Staff
India vs Sri Lanka, Prudential World Cup, Old Trafford, 16th, 18th June 1979
Sri Lanka won by 47 runs
Bandula Warnapura was handed the captaincy after the regular captain, Anura Tennekoon, pulled out of after pulling a hamstring a day before at the practise session.
Stand-in captain Warnapura shepherded his boys admirably as Sri Lanka pulled off the only win by an associate member at the 1979 World Cup by beating India by 47 runs.
Warnapura’s captaincy skills were put to the test as Sunil Gavaskar and Anshuman Gaekwad offered a robust start in pursuit of 239 for victory. India had to wait until Monday to kick-start their chase as the match got off to a late start on Saturday. And it was Warnapura who broke the steady Indian opening stand by dismissing Gavaskar.
Warnapura’s move to bring in Stanley de Silva as second change worked nicely when the latter removed Gaekwad to have India at 76 for two.
Sri Lankans weathered a defiant 3rd wicket stand between Dilip Vengsarkar and Gundappa Viswanath when the latter was run out.
The match was pretty much in the balance at this juncture, but the induction of Somachandra de Silva tipped the scales in Lankan favour. He spun a web around the Indian batsmen and accounted for the well-set Vengsarkar that left India in deep trouble at 147 for five.
Sri Lankans must have genuinely felt that here was an opportunity to script a famous win at Manchester. It looked like a game in their bag when Somachandra de Silva accounted for Mohinder Amarnath after India had lost Kapil Dev little earlier.
The victory march was hastened by medium-pacer Tony Opatha (three for 31) as India folded up for 191 in 54.1 overs.
Earlier, Warnapura raised an opening stand of 31 with Sunil Wettimuny after they were sent in by Indian captain Srinivas Venkataraghavan. Warnapura’s dismissal brought Roy Dias to the crease and the crowd was treated to some exhilarating batting from the Wettimuny-Dias pair.
They regaled the crowd adding 96 for the second wicket as the Indian bowlers struggled to make an impact on the Sri Lankans on a benign track.
Kapil Dev brought some cheer to the Indian camp when he broke the stand by snaring Wettimuny. India tasted further success twenty runs later when Dias’s wristy fifty ended in a return catch to Amarnath.
Duleep Mendis came in and made merry. He clobbering Karsan Ghavri, Kapil Dev and Amarnath for a six each en route to a belligerent half-century as Sri Lanka closed out at 238 for five in 60 overs.
The Manchester win has lot of significance for Sri Lanka as it not only won them the respect of the world cricket fraternity but, more importantly, hastened their entry into Test cricket.
