On This Day in Cricket - March 17

With the page of the calendar turning to March 17, the cricketing world has seen some of the most iconic moments on this day. In 1996, the Sri Lankan team managed to defeat the Australian team in the Finals of the ODI World Cup. Coming to 2007, the Ireland team gave a big upset in the ODI World Cup when they defeated Pakistan by 3 wickets. In 1991, Sri Lanka’s Danushka Gunathilaka was born today and proved to be a match-winner for the team.

On This Day - March 17, 1996 - Sri Lanka lifts the 1996 ODI World Cup

On 17th March 1996, the Finals of the ODI World Cup were played at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, where Sri Lanka pipped Australia by 7 wickets to lift their maiden ODI World Cup title. Winning the toss and electing to field first, Sri Lanka completely dismantled Australia by restricting them to 241/7 in their 50 overs as Aravinda de Silva picked 3 wickets in his 9 overs.

(Sri Lanka defeated Australia by 7 wickets)

From the Australian team, Mark Waugh scored 74 runs off just 83 balls to take the Australian team to a respectable total. While chasing the target, Sri Lanka started poorly, but it was the partnership between Asanka Gurusinha and Aravinda de Silva that helped Sri Lanka to chase the target in just 46.2 overs. For his century and 3 wickets in the Finals, Aravinda de Silva was awarded the Player of the Match award.

On This Day - March 17, 2007 - Ireland defeats Pakistan by 3 Wickets

One of the biggest upsets of the 2007 ODI World Cup came on 17th March at the Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, when Ireland managed to defeat the Pakistan team by 3 wickets. After fielding first in the match, Ireland restricted Pakistan to just 132 runs in the 45.4 overs. From the Ireland team, Boyd Rankin picked up 3 wickets in the 9 overs bowled by him.

(Ireland defeats Pakistan by 3 wickets)

Apart from Kamran Akmal and Imran Nazir, no other Pakistan batsmen managed to cross the 20-run mark, and hence it proved to be a poor show from the team. While chasing the target, Ireland chased off the target in 41.4 overs with the loss of 7 wickets. Niall O'Brien proved to be the key player as he scored 72 runs off 107 balls. Mohammad Sami’s effort went in vain as he picked 3 wickets in his 10 overs and gave just 29 runs.

On This Day - March 17, 1991 - Danushka Gunathilaka was Born Today

The Sri Lankan player Danushka Gunathilaka built his international career as a left-handed opening batter and part-time off-spin bowler. He represented the Sri Lanka national cricket team from 2015 to 2022 and played across all three formats. In Test cricket, he appeared in 8 matches and scored 299 runs with a highest score of 61 and an average of 18.68.

(Danushka Gunathilaka was born on March 17, 1991)

In One Day Internationals, he was more successful, playing 47 matches and scoring 1601 runs at an average of 35.57, including 2 centuries and 11 fifties with a top score of 133. In T20 Internationals, he featured in 46 matches and scored 741 runs with a strike rate of 120.48. Gunathilaka also contributed occasionally with the ball, taking 1 Test wicket, 8 ODI wickets, and 6 T20I wickets. Across domestic cricket, he scored more than 3000 T20 runs and 4740 List A runs, showing his strength as an aggressive top-order batter.

On This Day - March 17, 1965 - Andrew Hudson was born Today

As a player who opened the batting for the South Africa national cricket team, Andrew Hudson had a solid international career between 1991 and 1998. The right-handed opener played 35 Test matches and scored 2007 runs at an average of 33.45. His highest score was 163, which famously came on his Test debut, and he finished with 4 centuries and 13 fifties in the format. In One Day Internationals, he represented South Africa in 89 matches, scoring 2559 runs at an average of 29.41.

(Andrew Hudson was born on March 17, 1965)

His ODI record included 2 centuries and 18 half-centuries, with a best score of 161. Hudson also enjoyed a long domestic career. In first-class cricket, he played 151 matches and scored 9156 runs with 20 centuries and 47 fifties at an average of 36.62. In List A cricket, he added 5884 runs from 206 matches, including 4 hundreds and 41 fifties, proving his consistency as a dependable opening batter.