With his relentless aggression, strong wrists and natural timing, Tillakaratne Dilshan is one of the most exciting batsmen in the game today. He is technically sound, but, much like Virender Sehwag, he uses the defensive option only as a last resort, after all the attacking alternatives have been explored. He loves to make room and thrash the ball through the off side, but the stroke that bears his signature more than any other is the one he developed for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 - the eponymously named "Dilscoop" shot over his head, which confounded bowlers and experts alike.

In fact, 2009 was a watershed year in his career, and a huge factor was his move up the batting order to open the innings in all three forms of the game. It was a move that proved his making, as he exploited attacking fields and amassed huge scores in all formats: he scored 11 international hundreds in the year, and won the World Twenty20 Player of the Series prize.

Dilshan's abundant talent was never in doubt from the moment he made his debut, but he went through several early troughs, most notably when he was dropped from 2001 to 2003. Having burst onto the international scene with an unbeaten 163 against Zimbabwe in his first series in November 1999, Dilshan's career remained largely unfulfilled until he cemented his place as one of the most destructive openers in the modern era. Add his electric fielding, especially at backward point, and his underrated offspin, and Dilshan is a quality package. In 2011 he was named Sri Lanka's captain, after the resignation of Kumar Sangakkara, but his reign lasted less than a year, with Mahela Jayawardene replacing him after Sri Lanka's tour to South Africa in 2011-12. Like his team, Dilshan had had a poor run of form while he was captain, but his batting enjoyed a revival after being relieved of leadership, particularly in ODI cricket, where he was 2012's second-heaviest scorer, with 1119 runs.
Jamie Alter

• November 18, 1999
  International debut
  • Dilshan makes his first appearance for Sri Lanka in a Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. Makes just 9 in his only innings, but effects a run-out and takes two catches in the match.
    
• November 28, 1999
  Dilshan announces himself
  • Just ten days later, on day three of the Harare Test, Dilshan scores an unbeaten 163. He shows admirable restraint as Zimbabwe curtail his favourite pull and cover drive and, although he plays and misses frequently, Dilshan bats for a minute under eight hours, facing 343 balls and hitting 18 fours.
    
• December 11, 1999
  One-day debut
  • After his successful debut Test series, Dilshan plays his first ODI also in Bulawayo. Batting at No. 6, he makes 35 from 49 balls in a washed-out encounter.
    
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• December 12, 2003
  Breaking out
  • With just over two days remaining in Kandy, Sri Lanka have a window of opportunity, and in Dilshan, they have just the man to jump through it. It was four years on from his previous Test century, but you would not have known it from the way he bombards the off-side boundary with furious cuts and free-flowing drives. After the tentative tempo of the first three days, Dilshan's 100 from 129 balls represents a sudden breakout. In the end, however, England hold on for a gripping draw.
    
• July 4, 2006
  Dutch drubbing
  • Four months after two teams went past 400 in an ODI, Sri Lanka break that record against Netherlands in the unfamiliar surroundings of Amstelveen. Sanath Jayasuriya leads the way with a turbo-charged 157 off 104 balls while Dilshan flays the bowling with an equally crazy 117 off 79 balls, his maiden ODI century. After Jayasuriya goes, Dilshan takes up the charge and crashes boundaries to every corner of the ground.
    
• January 3-6, 2009
  Dilshan's Test
  • Dilshan's all-round success seals a series win for Sri Lanka over Bangladesh in Chittagong. He sets up Sri Lanka with 162 and 143 and completes the job by wiping out the Bangladesh lower-order and finishing with figures of 4 for 10 to wrap up the series 2-0 and script the fifth-biggest margin of victory in Tests in terms of runs.
    
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• January 24, 2009
  An experiment bears fruit
  • Dilshan's second ODI century, a mature unbeaten 137 off 139 balls as opener, helps Sri Lanka maul Pakistan in Lahore and seal another series win. Sri Lanka continue their experiment of opening with him and Dilshan battles through overcast conditions to compile his career-best score. He paddles and nudged, occasionally plays the fierce cut, and only after his hundred does Dilshan open up, slamming length deliveries and making room to carve the fuller ones over the off side.
    
• June 19, 2009
  Dilshan uncorked
  • Dilshan powers Sri Lanka to the final of the World Twenty20, smashing 96 off 57 balls, the tournament's highest score, against West Indies at The Oval. Despite his opening partner Jayasuriya struggling to 24 off 37, Dilshan leads his team to 73 in 10.3 overs. None of the others make more than 12 and Dilshan is responsible for nearly 61% of Sri Lanka's 158.
    
• August 18-22, 2009
  Turning a corner
  • The match that proved path-breaking. Dilshan, promoted to open the innings for the first time in Tests, races to 92 off 72 balls in the first innings and follows it up with a century in the second which helps his Sri Lanka set New Zealand an improbable target. The manner in which he dominates also mirrored the ineffectiveness of New Zealand's bowlers and Daniel Vettori later admits the uneven contest shut his team out of the Test.
    
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• December 15, 2009
  So near, so far
  • When India pile up a team-record 414 for 7 in Rajkot, it seems as though this too will be a depressing no-contest. But with a full-throttle approach their only option, Sri Lanka come out with genuine intent and no little menace. Dilshan gets to his half-century from just 38 balls as 81 come from the first 10 overs, and to his ton from 73 balls. A masterclass threatens to overhaul a massive target, but Dilshan's dismissal brings India back into the game and they win by a whisker.
    
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