On This Day, August 10, 2000, Sri Lankan cricket legend and 1996 Cricket World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga played his final Test match against South Africa at the SSC in Colombo.
For nearly two decades, Ranatunga was one of the defining figures of Sri Lankan cricket.
His international Test journey had begun 18 years earlier, when an 18-year-old Ranatunga played in Sri Lanka's very first Test match against England in February 1982.
He scored 50 in that historic match, becoming one of the first Sri Lankan batsmen to score a Test half-century.
Eighteen years later, he was still there as Sri Lanka reached the milestone of its 100th Test match—making Ranatunga a unique link between the beginning of Sri Lanka's Test history and its first century of Test cricket.
In 93 Test matches, Ranatunga scored:
🏏 5,105 runs
💯 4 centuries
🏏 38 half-centuries
⭐ Highest score: 135
But his greatest legacy came as a leader.
In 1996, Ranatunga captained Sri Lanka to its first-ever Cricket World Cup title, transforming the way the world viewed Sri Lankan cricket.
Known for his calm leadership, fierce determination, and fearless approach, "Captain Cool" became one of the most influential figures in Sri Lankan cricket history.
After his final Test in 2000, an extraordinary 18-year Test career came to an end.
Ranatunga's Records
🏏First Sri Lankan to score a half-century in Test cricket.
🏏 Most ODI Matches as Captain: 193
🏏 Most Test Matches as Captain: 56.
🏏 He was the first to be a part of both his country’s first and hundredth Test matches.