Arjuna Ranatunga celebrated the equalling of Allan Border's world record for the most number of one-day international matches as captain by leading his side to a long overdue victory in the Carlton and United Series in Australia yesterday.
Sri Lanka's three-wicket win over Australia at Hobart was not only their first in four matches in the current competition, but it also brought to an end a barren run of eight matches without a single win.
The rot began in Dhaka and continued in Sharjah and Australia until yesterday. During that period Sri Lanka lost twice each to India, Zimbabwe and England, and once each to South Africa and Australia.
Ranatunga could not have picked on a better occasion to equal Border's world record of 174 one-day international matches as captain. He is undoubtedly today, the longest surviving cricketer, having begun his international career as a teenager in February 1982.
Although 35 years old, Ranatunga is set to establish a new record by the time he retires. His only rival is Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin, who has so far led his country in 162 one-day internationals.
The following are the comparative records as captain of Ranatunga and Border:
M W L NR T %S
A. Ranatunga 178 84 85 8 1 49.7
A.R. Border 178 107 67 3 1 61.4
Ranatunga's captaincy record against each country
M W L NR T %S
v India 40 19 18 3 0 51.3
v Pakistan 45 18 26 1 0 40.9
v England 8 4 4 0 0 50.0
v West Indies 15 7 7 1 0 50.0
v Australia 19 8 11 0 0 42.1
v Bangladesh 3 3 0 0 0 100.0
v New Zealand 19 9 7 2 1 55.8
v Zimbabwe 13 9 4 0 0 69.2
v South Africa 14 5 8 1 0 38.4
v Kenya 2 2 0 0 0 100.0
TOTAL 178 84 85 8 1 49.7
Note: All figures complete till Sri Lanka v Australia match at Hobart on Jan. 21. Abbreviations used: M - Matches, W - Won, L - Lost, NR - No Result, T - Tie, %S - Percentage Success.