Nuwan Kulasekara facts for kids
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name |
Kulasekara Mudiyanselage Dinesh Nuwan Kulasekara
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| Born | 22 July 1982 Nittambuwa, Sri Lanka |
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| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm fast-medium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Bowler | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| National side |
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| Test debut (cap 100) | 4 April 2005 v New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 16 March 2013 v Bangladesh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 118) | 18 November 2003 v England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 10 July 2017 v Zimbabwe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I debut | 11 October 2008 v Pakistan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last T20I | 6 April 2017 v Bangladesh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | Galle Cricket Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2011 | Colts Cricket Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Chennai Super Kings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Comilla Victorians | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Lahore Qalandars | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 24 July 2019
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Kulasekara Mudiyanselage Dinesh Nuwan Kulasekara (born 22 July 1982) is a former Sri Lankan cricket player. He played in all three main types of cricket games: Test, One Day International (ODI), and Twenty20 International (T20I). Nuwan went to Bandaranayake College Gampaha for his education.
He was a very important part of the Sri Lankan team that won the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 tournament. He also helped his team reach the finals of several other big tournaments. These included the 2007 Cricket World Cup, 2011 Cricket World Cup, 2009 ICC World Twenty20, and 2012 ICC World Twenty20. In June 2016, Nuwan stopped playing Test cricket to focus on shorter games. He officially retired from all international cricket in July 2019. A special One Day International match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on July 31, 2019, was played to honor him.
After retiring from cricket, Nuwan Kulasekara moved to Colombo, where he lives now.
Contents
Nuwan's Cricket Journey
Starting His Cricket Journey
Nuwan Kulasekara played his first One Day International (ODI) match against England on November 18, 2003. This game took place in Dambulla, Sri Lanka. He did very well, taking 2 wickets for only 19 runs. England was bowled out for just 88 runs, and Sri Lanka won the match easily by 10 wickets.
His first Test cricket match was against New Zealand on April 4, 2005, in Napier, New Zealand. He was the 100th player to get a Test cap for Sri Lanka. In this match, he took one wicket and didn't score any runs. The game ended in a draw.
Nuwan also made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut on October 11, 2008, against Pakistan. He bowled well, giving away 36 runs in 3.5 overs. However, Pakistan won that match by three wickets.
Becoming a Star Bowler
In 2008, Nuwan showed his skill by taking 4 wickets for 40 runs against India. He also helped his team win against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in a special tournament in Bangladesh in 2008–09.
On January 25, 2009, Nuwan Kulasekara became the number two bowler in the world for One Day Internationals, according to the ICC rankings. He took 45 wickets that year, with a great average of 20.97 runs per wicket. This included taking five wickets in the last two ODI matches against Pakistan.
Nuwan was ranked the number one ODI bowler in the world on March 11, 2009. He held this top spot until September 26 of that year. With famous bowlers like Chaminda Vaas retiring and Lasith Malinga sometimes not playing consistently, Nuwan became the main strike bowler for Sri Lanka. One of his best bowling performances was taking 4 wickets for 41 runs in Colombo.
During a series against Pakistan at home in 2009, Nuwan took the most wickets in the three-match Test series. He was named "man of the match" for his excellent bowling in the second Test. Sri Lanka won the series 2–0, and Nuwan was given the "player of the series" award. He took 17 wickets in total, with an average of 15.05 runs per wicket.
Nuwan was also chosen for the 2009 World ODI team, which was led by MS Dhoni. On May 23, 2010, against New Zealand, he bowled amazingly, taking three wickets in his very first over. He finished with three wickets for only four runs. Sri Lanka won that match by seven wickets, and Nuwan was again named "man of the match."
Challenges and Triumphs
Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga were key bowlers for Sri Lanka since they started playing in 2003 and 2004. They often worked together to win matches. In a Twenty20 International game against England in Bristol, they combined to take three wickets for only 30 runs in seven overs. Sri Lanka won that match by nine wickets.
In October 2012, Nuwan got injured. However, he came back strong in a domestic tournament, taking two wickets for 37 runs. Because of this good performance, he was called back to play for Sri Lanka in the Test and ODI series against South Africa. He didn't play in the Test series but played in all five ODIs.
After playing in a tournament in Australia, he was again called back for the Test team to play against Pakistan in 2012. Nuwan took the most wickets in the two-match T20I series against Pakistan, getting four wickets. He and Malinga also took seven wickets each during the ODI series against Pakistan, which Sri Lanka won 3–0.
In July 2012, Nuwan had to miss a five-ODI series against India because he got injured while trying to catch a ball. Later that year, on October 25, he was made the vice-captain of Sri Lanka's T20I team for their tour against New Zealand.
On January 18, 2013, Nuwan had his best bowling performance in an ODI match. He took five wickets for only 22 runs against Australia in Brisbane. This was his first and only time taking five wickets in an ODI. Australia was bowled out for just 74 runs, and Sri Lanka won by four wickets. This performance was considered one of the best ODI bowling performances of 2013.
Dealing with Injuries
On March 4, 2012, Nuwan scored 74 runs against Australia, helping Sri Lanka get close to winning a final match. He was the second-highest wicket-taker for Sri Lanka in that series, with 12 wickets.
On June 13, 2013, during a match against England in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, Nuwan helped his captain Kumar Sangakkara score a century. They added 110 runs together without losing their wickets, leading Sri Lanka to victory. Nuwan scored an impressive 58 runs from just 38 balls. During this game, Sangakkara almost got run out, but Nuwan ran alongside him to make sure he would be the one run out instead, showing great teamwork.
After this tournament, Sri Lanka went to the West Indies for another series. There, Nuwan dislocated a finger on his left hand. After resting for three weeks, he returned to play in the T20I series against South Africa in 2013. Later, he tore a hamstring muscle during an ODI series against Pakistan and missed the Test series. After recovering, he joined the team for a series in Bangladesh. However, he was not in his best form and also missed part of the Bangladesh tour and the 2014 Asia Cup due to a groin injury.
A Great Year: 2014
Nuwan played in the ODI series against England in 2014, which Sri Lanka won 3–2. In one match, he and Sachithra Senanayake bowled out England for only 99 runs, which was England's worst ODI score at home. Nuwan took 3 wickets for 15 runs, and Sri Lanka won by 157 runs.
During the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 tournament, Nuwan set a record for the most economical bowling in a T20I match. He bowled two overs without giving away any runs at all! The Netherlands team was bowled out for just 43 runs, which is the lowest T20I score ever.
Nuwan Kulasekara holds the world record for bowling the most "maiden overs" (overs where no runs are scored) in T20I matches, with six. He was also named to a special "T20I Team of the Year" for his great performances in 2014. He formed a strong bowling team with Malinga, helping Sri Lanka win the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 by bowling well against strong Indian batters. In 2014, Sri Lanka won 20 out of 32 ODI matches, which is a winning rate of 62.5%.
Later Years in Cricket
Also in 2014, Sri Lanka played an ODI series in India. They lost all five matches, which was the first time Sri Lanka had been "whitewashed" (lost every game) in their cricket history. Nuwan took 1 wicket for 89 runs in one of these games. He missed the series against England later that year. However, on December 30, 2014, he was called back to the ODI team for a series against New Zealand. Nuwan was named the T20 Bowler of the Year at the 2015 Sri Lanka Cricket Awards.
He was not chosen for a series against Pakistan in July 2015 but was later recalled for the ODI series against the West Indies. On December 18, 2015, Nuwan replaced an injured player in Sri Lanka's ODI team for a series against New Zealand. Sri Lanka only won one match in that series. In the first ODI, Nuwan scored his fourth half-century (50 runs) in an ODI. He and Milinda Siriwardana made a partnership of 98 runs. Nuwan scored 58 runs, and Sri Lanka made a total of 188 runs. New Zealand won that match. He also played in the 2016 Asia Cup and the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 in India.
On November 5, 2016, Nuwan was called back for a special tournament with Zimbabwe and the West Indies. He took two wickets against the West Indies and two against Zimbabwe. Sri Lanka won the tournament by beating Zimbabwe in the final, where Nuwan took one wicket. He was the third-highest wicket-taker in the series, with eight wickets. During Bangladesh's tour of Sri Lanka in 2017, Nuwan helped Sri Lanka win an ODI match by taking four wickets for 37 runs. Sri Lanka won that match by 70 runs.
Saying Goodbye to International Cricket
On June 1, 2016, Nuwan Kulasekara announced that he was retiring from Test cricket. He wanted to focus only on playing in the shorter, limited-over international games. He played 21 Test matches and took 48 wickets. His last Test match was in June 2014.
During the 2019 Cricket World Cup, another Sri Lankan bowler, Lasith Malinga, suggested that he would like to retire from ODI cricket at the same time as Nuwan. However, Sri Lanka Cricket decided to leave Nuwan out of the ODI team for the Bangladesh tour. Nuwan then sent a letter to Sri Lanka Cricket asking them to let him play one last farewell match with Malinga. When he didn't get a reply, he announced his retirement from international cricket on July 24, 2019.
Malinga also announced his retirement from ODI cricket after the first match of the Bangladesh series. Sri Lanka Cricket then announced that the third ODI match of the series would be dedicated to Nuwan Kulasekara. Sri Lanka won that match, winning the series against Bangladesh 3–0.
Amazing Cricket Records
- Nuwan Kulasekara holds the record for the highest score by a Sri Lankan player batting at the number-eight position in an ODI match, with 73 runs.
- He has the most economical bowling performance in a T20I match, giving away 0.00 runs against the Netherlands.
- He is the only bowler to have an economy rate of 0.00 in a T20I match.
- He has bowled the most "maiden overs" (overs with no runs scored) in T20I history, with five.
How Nuwan Bowled
Nuwan Kulasekara was known for his bowling style. He used a long run-up before bowling the ball. He was very good at making the ball move both ways, which made it hard for the batters. He mainly bowled an inswing delivery, which means the ball curved in towards the batter. He also learned to bowl an outswinger, where the ball curved away from the batter.
Playing for Cricket Teams
On April 29, 2009, Nuwan Kulasekara joined the Kings XI Punjab team as a replacement player. He then joined the Chennai Super Kings for the 2011 Indian Premier League season.
Nuwan also played in domestic T20I series for the Kandurata Maroons team. In one final match, he took three important wickets, helping his team win by seven wickets. This win meant Kandurata was chosen for the 2013 Champions League Twenty20. Nuwan also played for the Comilla Victorians in the Bangladesh Premier League in 2015. In a match on November 27, 2015, he took four wickets for only 12 runs. In 2016, Nuwan signed a short contract to play for the Sussex Sharks in England.
Coaching Career
Nuwan Kulasekara started his coaching career when he was appointed as the bowling coach for the Kandy Tuskers team. This was for the 2020 Lanka Premier League tournament.
