September 11 down the years

Sri Lanka's day in the sun

On which they notched up their first Test win, their first Test win over Australia, and their sixth Asia Cup title win

On fire: Sri Lanka totted up their sixth Asia Cup title in 2022  •  AFP/Getty Images

On fire: Sri Lanka totted up their sixth Asia Cup title in 2022  •  AFP/Getty Images

2022
Sri Lanka won their sixth Asia Cup title, beating Pakistan in the final in Dubai. Bhanuka Rajapaksa made 71, taking Sri Lanka to a fighting total after they fell to 58 for 5, following which fast bowler Madushan Liyanagamage, playing in only his second T20I, took four wickets. Sri Lanka's trump card, leggie Wanindu Hasaranga, chipped in with three, and Pakistan were rolled for 147. The third time was definitely not the charm for them - they had previously lost to Sri Lanka in Asia Cup finals in 1986 and 2014.
1911
One of the great figures in world cricket is born. Lala Amarnath's century on debut, against England in 1933-34, was India's first in Test cricket. A dashing batter and versatile bowler, he twice took five wickets in an innings in the 1946 series in England - ten years after being sent home from a shambolic tour of the same country. He captained India to victory in their first official series against Pakistan (1952-53) - and his Test career lasted 19 years to the day. His sons Mohinder and Surinder also played for India.
2007
The first ever individual hundred in T20Is came in the opening game of the first World T20 tournament, and fittingly it came from the Bradman of T20, Chris Gayle, who took South Africa's bowlers for 117 off 57 balls… only to see West Indies eventually beaten with more than two overs to spare.
2023
India's biggest win over Pakistan in ODIs came on this day in Colombo, in the Asia Cup. When the game, halted by rain the previous day, resumed, India started at 147 for 1, and when they blew the smoke from their barrels, they had 356 off the back of hundreds from Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, who accounted for 233 runs between them. Kuldeep Yadav then put the boot into Pakistan's reply, taking 5 for 25 in eight overs to kill the alleged chase in 32 overs.
2018
A fairy-tale finish at The Oval for England and Alastair Cook, who put an emphatic 4-1 seal on their series win over India. It was Cook's last Test, and having made 109 scratchy runs in his seven previous innings in the series, he unveiled beast mode for a hundred and a fifty, finishing with 218 runs in the match. India briefly entertained hopes of a draw - or even an unlikely win - when, set 464, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant put on a partnership of 204 on the final day, but it was soon back to script: Adil Rashid accounted for both batters, and James Anderson took the final wicket, his 564th, which made him the world's most prolific fast bowler ever.
1985
One of Sri Lanka's greatest days. The match at Colombo's P Sara Stadium was their 14th in Test cricket - and their first win. Thanks to Rumesh Ratnayake's 5 for 49 and Amal Silva's five dismissals, India were all out for 198 and lost by 149 runs. A draw in the next Test gave Sri Lanka a series for the first time.
1999
Another big one for Sri Lanka, this time in Kandy. Led by new captain Sanath Jayasuriya, they beat Australia in a Test match for the first time, at the 11th attempt. Once the visitors had been dismissed for only 140 on an uneven pitch, Sri Lanka won comfortably by six wickets.
1912
West Indies' youngest Test cricketer is born. When he made his debut, against England in Bridgetown, Derek Sealy was only 17 years 122 days old, and he still holds the record for being the youngest Test cricketer from outside the subcontinent. A strong attacking batter, he made 58 in his debut innings and went on to score 92 and 91 in different Tests against the same country in 1934-35. He didn't do so well away from home, averaging only 10 in Australia in 1930-31 and 23.75 in England in 1939.
1976
Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik, born today, played only eight Tests in a four-and-a-half-year span, largely because his career coincided with the Kumble-Harbhajan era. He forced his way into the Indian team in 1999-2000 after impressive domestic performances, but he didn't seem to enjoy Sourav Ganguly's confidence and was either underbowled or used defensively. In Mumbai in 2004-05 he ran through the Australian batting on a dustbowl to take India to a win, but he played only one more Test before being consigned to the periphery. He found success in the shortest format, playing a part in Middlesex's T20 triumph in 2008, and also played for Somerset and Surrey.
1999
A new member joined a relatively exclusive club. Tasmanian batter Jamie Cox scored a double-century and a hundred in the same first-class match, making 216 and 129 not out for Somerset v Hampshire in Southampton. On what the Wisden Almanack described as "a perfect batting wicket", he was dropped twice in the first innings but "his second was chanceless". He became a national selector after retirement, a post he held for five years before quitting in the aftermath of Australia's disastrous 2010-11 Ashes.
1995
Much better known as an opening batter who scored 205 at Old Trafford in 1992, Aamer Sohail was an occasional slow left-arm bowler who did the trick on this occasion. His 4 for 54 helped dismiss Sri Lanka for 233 in Peshawar and win the first Test by 40 runs.
1849
A long-lived great-grandfather was born today. When William Henry Cooper died in 1939, he was 89 years old. He liked to take his time with other things too: when he played first-class cricket for the first time, he was already 27. In the first of his two Tests, against England in Melbourne in 1881-82, he bowled 98.2 overs in the match, finishing with 9 for 200. His main claim to fame is ancestral; he is the only player whose great-grandson was also a Test cricketer: Paul Sheahan played his first Test for Australia in 1967-68.
Other birthdays
1874 Charles Prince (South Africa)
1907 Oscar da Costa (West Indies)
1969 Sanjayan Thuraisingam (Canada)