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Updated : Jan 02, 2026 22:16 IST , THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - 3 MINS READ
Under Rumesh Ratnayake, Sri Lanka beat South Africa in T20I series in South Africa and stunned India in the Asia Cup final. | Photo Credit: Nirmal Harindran
Rumesh Ratnayake bowled Sri Lanka to its first ever Test victory. That was in 1985, but even four decades later, he remembers precisely how he got the better of a world-class Indian batting lineup that boasted of Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Mohinder Amarnath in Colombo.
The quick, who used to wear a white headband, took four for 76 and five for 49 to lead Sri Lanka to a historic 149-run win in the second Test. The Lankans went on to win the three-match series 1-0.
“For that series, we had wickets that were conducive to pace,” said Ratnayake. “That was our strategy, but we probably would not have made pitches like that if we were playing Pakistan, though.”
Gavaskar had chosen to bat in the middle-order in that series, in which K. Srikkanth, debutant Lalchand Rajput and Ravi Shastri were the openers. “India had a great batting lineup those days, with Gavaskar, Amarnath and Vengsarkar, who had such a lazy elegance to his batting,” said Ratnayake during Sri Lanka’s women’s T20I series against India. The final match in the series here is believed to be his last as the coach.
“I will continue with the Sri Lankan system,” he said. “but I am not sure whether I will be in it.”
Three years ago, he had taken over when the team was going through a rough patch. Under him, the team beat South Africa in T20I series in South Africa and England in England and stunned India in the Asia Cup final.
“I was absolutely new to women’s cricket and I accepted the job only after the then coach Hashan Tillakaratne, my friend, joined the Bangladesh team,” said the man who took 149 wickets from 23 Tests and 70 ODIs. “I saw potential in the team and I gave them confidence. I wasn’t harsh on them when they made mistakes, like dropping a catch. In the very first match we played, against South Africa at the 2023 T20I World Cup, we won.”
He believes women’s cricket is evolving fast. “Some of the sixes you see in women’s cricket today are almost as big as the ones that were scored by the men 30 years ago,” he said.
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