Jump to content

Dhananjaya de Silva

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dhananjaya de Silva
Personal information
Born (1991-09-06) 6 September 1991 (age 33)
Hambantota, Sri Lanka
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm off break
RoleBatting All-rounder
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 135)26 July 2016 v Australia
Last Test26 September 2024 v New Zealand
ODI debut (cap 169)16 June 2016 v Ireland
Last ODI9 November 2023 v New Zealand
T20I debut (cap 53)30 July 2015 v Pakistan
Last T20I19 February 2024 v Afghanistan
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
Badureliya SC
Kandurata Maroons
Ragama CC
2016–presentTamil Union
2020Jaffna Stallions
2021Colombo Stars
2024Khulna Tigers
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI T20I FC
Matches 59 90 45 124
Runs scored 3,881 1,865 847 8,228
Batting average 40.42 25.90 21.17 40.93
100s/50s 12/17 0/10 0/3 24/38
Top score 173 93 66* 173
Balls bowled 3,885 2,250 286 8,546
Wickets 40 44 16 148
Bowling average 53.57 43.34 20.43 30.77
5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 5
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 1
Best bowling 3/25 3/32 2/22 7/59
Catches/stumpings 80/– 41/– 21/– 154/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 29 September 2024

Dhananjaya Maduranga de Silva (Sinhala: ධනංජය මදුරංග ද සිල්වා; born 6 September 1991) is a Sri Lankan professional cricketer,[1] who plays for Sri Lanka in all formats of the game and for Tamil Union in domestic cricket and current captain of the national team in Test cricket. In November 2017, he was named the Test batsman of the year for the 2016–17 season at Sri Lanka Cricket's annual awards.[2]

Personal life

[edit]

de Silva was born on 6 September 1991 at Hambantota as the second son of a family of three brothers. de Silva started his cricket career at Deberawewa National School in Tissamaharama, Hambanthota. After he move to Galle, he then briefly attended Mahanama College Colombo, before moving to Richmond College, Galle.[3] He played his senior school cricket at Richmond College, Galle and captained the Richmond first XI cricket team in the 2010/2011 season.[4]

de Silva's father, Ranjan de Silva was a politician. On 25 May 2018, his father was murdered by an unidentified gunman in front of their Ratmalana house.[5] With the sudden death of his father, de Silva withdrew from the Sri Lankan squad for the West Indies tour.[6] However, he participated in the tour from second match onwards.[7]

Domestic career

[edit]

In March 2018, de Silva was named as the vice-captain of the Colombo squad for the 2017–18 Super Four Provincial Tournament.[8][9] The following month, he was also named in Colombo's squad for the 2018 Super Provincial One Day Tournament.[10]

In August 2018, de Silva was named in Galle's squad the 2018 SLC T20 League.[11] In March 2019, he was named in Galle's squad for the 2019 Super Provincial One Day Tournament.[12] Following the conclusion of the competition, he was named the player of the tournament.[13] In October 2020, he was drafted by the Jaffna Stallions for the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League.[14] In August 2021, he was named as the captain of the SLC Blues team for the 2021 SLC Invitational T20 League tournament.[15] In July 2022, he was signed by the Jaffna Kings for the third edition of the Lanka Premier League.[16]

International career

[edit]

International debut

[edit]

In July 2015, de Silva was named in Sri Lanka's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for their series against Pakistan.[17] He made his T20I debut on 30 July 2015. He scored 31 runs in his debut match, which Sri Lanka lost.[18]

de Silva made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Ireland on 16 June 2016, and received the 169th Sri Lankan ODI cap.[19]

In July 2016, de Silva was named in Sri Lanka's Test squad for their series against Australia.[20] On 26 July 2016, he made his Test debut for Sri Lanka against Australia.[21] He became the first player for Sri Lanka to get off the mark in a Test match by scoring a six and the fifth overall.[22][23][24] He took his first Test wicket by dismissing Peter Nevill in the second innings of the match.

Cementing permanent slot

[edit]

de Silva's maiden Test century came during the third Test of same Australian series. Sri Lanka were in trouble at 5/26, when de Silva joined Dinesh Chandimal. The two shared a century partnership and de Silva scored maiden ton of his career.[25] de Silva was the highest run scorer in the series with 325 runs, including one century and one fifty, at an average of 65.00.[26] Sri Lanka whitewashed Australia for the first time.[27]

After Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan retired from ODIs, de Silva was promoted to his slot of opening position. He scored 76 runs after opening the batting for the first time. This score stands as the highest score by a Sri Lankan opening the batting for the first time, beating Saman Jayantha's score of 74 in 2004. His poor performances against South Africa had him dropped from the opening slot, but was played as a middle order batsman.

de Silva continued his good performance throughout the two Tests against Zimbabwe. In the first match, he scored a fifty. Zimbabwe made 411 while chasing, with Sri Lanka winning the match. During the second Test, de Silva made a 142-run partnership with Upul Tharanga. Tharanga was out caught at slip and de Silva continued his innings by scoring his second Test century, in his fifth Test match of his career.[28]

Ups and downs

[edit]

With poor performances in South Africa, de Silva was dropped from all squads. He was not initially included in Sri Lanka's ODI squad for the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. However, Kusal Perera was ruled out of the tournament with a hamstring injury, and de Silva was called up to the squad.[29] But he could not capitalize his worthiness in the squad and was dropped from the Sri Lankan squad after the Champions Trophy.

de Silva was recalled to the ODI series against India.[30] de Silva was recalled to the Test squad for the third Test against India in 2017. He was dismissed for single run in the first innings. However, in the second innings, de Silva scored his third Test century. Shortly after, de Silva walked off the field with a thigh injury. The match was drawn.[31] His unbeaten 119 was the highest fourth-innings score by a visiting batsman in India.[32]

During the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong, de Silva scored his fourth Test century, which was his second consecutive century following the Delhi Test against India in the previous year. He along with Kusal Mendis made an unbeaten 187-run partnership at the end of second day of the match.[33][34] On third day, the two piled 308-run partnership until de Silva was dismissed for 173 off Mustafizur Rahman. This was his highest Test score and he also passed 1,000 Test runs in his 23rd innings during the match, becoming joint-fastest Sri Lankan batsman to reach 1,000 Test runs along with Roy Dias and Michael Vandort.[35] In May 2018, he was one of 33 cricketers to be awarded a national contract by Sri Lanka Cricket ahead of the 2018–19 season.[36][37]

Comeback to the T20I side

[edit]

de Silva was always in and out in the T20I squad since his debut in 2015 against Pakistan. However, after strong performances in Test and ODIs, Dhananjaya was included to the one-off T20I against South Africa on 14 August 2018. In the match, he showcased an all-round performance, with South Africa being bowled out for 99 runs, which was their lowest score in T20Is. During the chase, with Dinesh Chandimal, he made a 53-run partnership, guiding the team to victory. Due to his all-round performances, de Silva won the man of the match award.[38]

Permanent middle order

[edit]

In April 2019, de Silva was named in Sri Lanka's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.[39][40] During the match against England, he took three wickets in nine deliveries to deliver a 20-run win over England. This was Sri Lanka's fourth consecutive win against England in World Cups.[41]

On 15 December 2019, during the first Test against Pakistan, de Silva scored his sixth Test century.[42] With his unbeaten century, Sri Lanka posted 308 in first innings in a rain affected match, with the match finishing as a draw.[43]

On 1 March 2020, in the third ODI against the West Indies, de Silva injured his wrist during the match. He was later ruled out of the T20I series against the West Indies.[44] In December 2020, he toured South Africa for a two-Test match series. In the Boxing Day Test match, he scored his seventh 50 and strengthened the first innings along with Dinesh Chandimal.[45] However, he retired hurt when on 79, after showing severe discomfort, collapsing to the ground, and had to be helped off the field and into the dressing room.[46] After an MRI scan after the close of play, he confirmed a tear of about 20% or 30% and needed two weeks for recovery. He was immediately released from the rest of the series.[47]

During the first Test match against Bangladesh in May 2021, de Silva scored his seventh Test century. He batted for the entire fourth day, with Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne, without losing a wicket and put on record breaking partnership.[48] Their partnership is a record for any wicket in a Test match in Kandy.[49] In September 2021, de Silva was named in Sri Lanka's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[50] In June 2022, he was named in the Sri Lanka A squad for their matches against Australia A during Australia's tour of Sri Lanka.[51] During the Test series against Australia, Dananjaya contracted COVID-19 and was ruled out of the second Test in Galle, along with fellow players Asitha Fernando and Jeffrey Vandersay.[52]

On 1 November 2022, de Silva hit fifty and therefore Sri Lanka held a six-wicket lead over Afghanistan.[53] On 20 March 2023, de silva hit half century against New Zealand at Wellington. He missed his 10th Test Century by just 2 runs. In this innings he scored 98 runs.

In May 2024, he was named in Sri Lanka’s squad for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament.[54]

Test captaincy

[edit]

Following the resignation of Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne, de Silva was appointed as the 18th Test captain of Sri Lanka team.[55] Against Afghanistan in February 2024, he led Sri Lanka to the victory and win the one-off test series.[56]

Against Bangladesh in March 2024, de Silva scored a century in the first innings and made 202-run sixth-wicket stand with Kamindu Mendis, who also scored a century.[57] Both of them were dismissed for 102, where Sri Lanka posted 280 runs in the first innings. In the second innings, he made another century and a century partnership with Kamindu, who also made a century.[58] This was only the third instance, where two players from the same team made twin hundreds in a Test match. Finally Sri Lanka won the match by 328 runs and de Silva won the man of the match award.[59]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Dhananjaya de Silva". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Gunaratne wins big at SLC's annual awards". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  3. ^ "New practice cricket strips for Debarawewa NS". The Sunday Times. 18 June 2017 – via PressReader.
  4. ^ "Richmond with balanced team". Sunday Observer. 20 March 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  5. ^ "Father of Sri Lankan cricketer Dhananjaya de Silva shot dead". The Hindu. AFP. 25 May 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  6. ^ Fernando, Andrew Fidel (24 May 2018). "Dhananjaya de Silva withdraws from West Indies tour after father killed by gunman". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Dhananjaya to return for West Indies tour following father's funeral". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. 3 June 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Cricket: Mixed opinions on Provincial tournament". The Sunday Times. 26 March 2018. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  9. ^ "All you need to know about the SL Super Provincial Tournament". Daily Sports. 26 March 2018. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  10. ^ Weerasinghe, Damith (27 April 2018). "SLC Super Provincial 50 over tournament squads and fixtures". The Papare. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  11. ^ "SLC T20 League 2018 squads finalized". The Papare. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  12. ^ Weerasinghe, Damith (19 March 2019). "Squads, Fixtures announced for SLC Provincial 50 Overs Tournament". The Papare. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Rain spoils Provincial Final after Thirimanne century". The Papare. 11 April 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  14. ^ Fernando, Andrew Fidel (19 October 2020). "Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Shahid Afridi among big names taken at LPL draft". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  15. ^ Weerasinghe, Damith (9 August 2019). "Sri Lanka Cricket announce Invitational T20 squads and schedule". The Papare. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  16. ^ Balasuriya, Madushka (6 July 2022). "LPL 2022 draft: Kandy Falcons sign Hasaranga; Rajapaksa to turn out for Dambulla Giants". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  17. ^ "Five uncapped players in SL squad for Pakistan T20s". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  18. ^ "Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka, 1st T20I: Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Colombo (RPS), Jul 30, 2015". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  19. ^ "Sri Lanka tour of England and Ireland, 1st ODI: Ireland v Sri Lanka at Dublin (Malahide), Jun 16, 2016". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  20. ^ Fernando, Andrew Fidel (21 July 2016). "Siriwardana left out of Sri Lanka squad for first Test". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  21. ^ "Australia tour of Sri Lanka, 1st Test: Sri Lanka v Australia at Pallekele, Jul 26–30, 2016". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  22. ^ Seervi, Bharath (26 July 2016). "Sri Lanka's shortest innings after electing to bat". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  23. ^ "Debutant de Silva joins exclusive club". Cricket Australia. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  24. ^ "Six and in: Debutant's rare feat against Aussies". The Courier Mail. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  25. ^ Coverdale, Brydon (13 August 2016). "De Silva and Chandimal lead Sri Lanka fightback". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  26. ^ "Records / Warne-Muralitharan Trophy, 2016 / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  27. ^ Coverdale, Brydon (17 August 2016). "Herath bowls Sri Lanka to historic whitewash". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  28. ^ Kishore, Shashank (6 November 2016). "Dhananjaya ton leaves Sri Lanka ahead on absorbing first day". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  29. ^ "Kusal Perera ruled out of Champions Trophy, Dhananjaya returns". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. 10 June 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  30. ^ Balasuriya, Madushka (5 December 2017). "Kusal Perera back in Sri Lanka ODI squad". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  31. ^ Krishnaswamy, Karthik (6 December 2017). "Dhananjaya, Roshen deny India 2–0". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  32. ^ Seervi, Bharath (6 December 2017). "India's record streak of nine consecutive series wins". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  33. ^ "Dhananjaya, Mendis lead strong Sri Lanka reply". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  34. ^ "Mendis and Dhananjaya battle adversity to keep Sri Lanka afloat". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  35. ^ Fernando, Andrew Fidel (2 February 2018). "Sri Lanka pile on the runs and eye big lead". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  36. ^ "Sri Lanka assign 33 national contracts with pay hike". International Cricket Council. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  37. ^ Fernando, Andrew Fidel (22 May 2018). "Sri Lankan players to receive pay hike". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  38. ^ Moonda, Firdose (14 August 2018). "Dinesh Chandimal guides Sri Lanka home in low-scoring thriller". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  39. ^ Fernando, Andrew Fidel (18 April 2019). "Thirimanne, Siriwardana, Vandersay picked in World Cup squad". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  40. ^ "Jeevan Mendis, Siriwardana, Vandersay make comebacks in Sri Lanka World Cup squad". International Cricket Council. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  41. ^ Gardner, Alan (21 June 2019). "'On slower wickets, we can beat any team' - Dhananjaya de Silva". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  42. ^ Fernando, Andrew Fidel (15 December 2019). "Dhananjaya de Silva rates Rawalpindi hundred his second best in Tests". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  43. ^ Fernando, Andrew Fidel (15 December 2019). "Abid Ali, Babar Azam provide rousing finish to dank Test". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  44. ^ "Nuwan Pradeep, Dhananjaya de Silva out of West Indies T20Is". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  45. ^ Fernando, Andrew Fidel (26 December 2020). "Dhananjaya de Silva and Dinesh Chandimal's contrasting half-centuries put Sri Lanka in box seat". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  46. ^ "Dhananjaya de Silva doubtful for rest of series after retiring hurt". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. 26 December 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  47. ^ "Dhananjaya de Silva suffers torn thigh and will play no further part in South Africa Tests". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. 27 December 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  48. ^ "Dimuth Karunaratne and Dhananjaya de Silva power Sri Lanka to 512/3 - Sentinelassam". www.sentinelassam.com. 25 April 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  49. ^ "Sri Lanka's Dimuth Karunaratne hits 234no vs Bangladesh, shares record stand with Dhananjaya de Silva". Sky Sports. 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  50. ^ Fernando, Andrew Fidel (10 September 2021). "Theekshana and Rajapaksa surprise picks in Sri Lanka's T20 World Cup squad". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  51. ^ Sanjeewa, Kanishka (7 June 2022). "Sri Lanka 'A' squads announced for Australia 'A' games". The Papare. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  52. ^ "Dhananjaya, Asitha and Vandersay join Sri Lanka's Covid-19 list". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  53. ^ "T20 World Cup: Wanindu Hasaranga, Dhananjaya de Silva Keep Sri Lanka's Semifinals Hopes Alive". NDTV. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  54. ^ "Sri Lanka's Squad for ICC Men's T20I World Cup 2024". ScoreWaves. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  55. ^ "Dhananjaya de Silva replaces Dimuth Karunaratne as Sri Lanka's Test captain". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. 1 January 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  56. ^ "Jayasuriya, Asitha and batters lead Sri Lanka to comfortable win in one-off Test". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc. 1 January 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  57. ^ "Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, 1st Test at Sylhet, BAN v SL, Mar 22 2024 - Full Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  58. ^ "Kamindu Mendis celebrates his first Test century: 'I worked tirelessly to get to this point'". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  59. ^ "Rajitha five-for leads Sri Lanka to 328-run demolition of Bangladesh". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
[edit]