{"id":141053,"date":"2024-08-25T05:49:45","date_gmt":"2024-08-25T05:49:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?p=141053"},"modified":"2024-08-25T05:49:45","modified_gmt":"2024-08-25T05:49:45","slug":"special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/","title":{"rendered":"Special Memories of my Skipper Duleep Mendis by Ravi Rudra"},"content":{"rendered":"

Special Memories of My Skipper Duleep Mendis by Ravi Rudra<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Special<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dear Dulla,<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Wishing you a Very Happy 72nd \u00a0Birthday.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you for the Golden Memories.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

God Bless<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Ravi Rudra<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Special Memories of my Skipper Duleep Mendis\u00a0 <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In 1962 (3<\/span>rd <\/span>Term fixture) fresher Barney Reid in only his second 1<\/span>st <\/span>XI game\u00a0 for STC routs St. Sebastian\u2019s, Moratuwa, at the College grounds for mere 9\u00a0 runs by taking a staggering 8 wickets for 2 runs. St. Sebastian\u2019s first\u00a0 innings began at 12 noon on the Friday and was destroyed within an hour\u00a0 during our lunch interval.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Barney follows this up with another incredible haul of 8 wkts for 9 runs\u00a0 against Prince of Wales, Moratuwa in the following game. With the mayhem\u00a0 that happened in those couple of weeks, one would have thought, it not only\u00a0 sent shivers among the cricket crazy public of Moratuwa but would have\u00a0 justified all parents, from that suburb, to introduce their children to\u00a0 another sport rather than embarrass themselves on the cricket fields.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, at the same time a wee-ten year old boy, was just about to embark\u00a0 into Junior cricket at St Sebastian\u2019s and before long, against all odds\u00a0 becomes one of the most famous cricketing icons of both STC and Sri Lanka\u00a0 Cricket. Encouraged by his parents Julian and Doreen Mendis and inspired\u00a0 in particular by his older brother Gerald, Duleep Mendis made his 1st XI\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

debut as a 15-year old in 1967. Gerald held the batting record in the Prince\u00a0 of Wales \u2013 St. Sebastian\u2019s Big Match.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Duleep who began his career as a specialist wicket keeping batsman went\u00a0 onto captain St. Sebastian\u2019s 1<\/span>st <\/span>XI at just 16 years in 68\/69. He also\u00a0 represented the famous Moratuwa Club, Catamarans in the \u2018Donovan\u00a0 Andree\u2019 division against more experienced bowling attacks. For two\u00a0 successive seasons Duleep plundered over 1,000 runs (for School and Club\u00a0 combined) while shattering all kinds of batting records.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore there was tremendous excitement and anticipation among all\u00a0 Thomians when news broke out that Duleep was joining STC, following his\u00a0 O-Levels, for the 1969\/70 season.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the beginning of the 1969 third term, Skipper Prabodha Kariyawasam,\u00a0 perhaps recommended by coach Mr. Lassie Abeywardena, picked three of us\u00a0 (Ranil Abeynaike, Shanmugam Manotharan and me) following a successful\u00a0 under sixteen season to join the first eleven squad.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I turned up for the first practice at the Small Clubs grounds with mixed\u00a0 feelings \u2013 extremely nervous about freshers being ragged (thankfully it did\u00a0 not happen) as well as the thrill of being in the presence of several players\u00a0 that I greatly admired including seeing Duleep in action for the first time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He did not disappoint as he went about his business with sheer class,\u00a0 confidence and charisma. He was a brilliant wicket keeper too \u2013a natural\u00a0 gloveman, very agile, beautifully economical in his movements.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mendis was certainly \u2018Special\u2019! Who would have thought that seven years\u00a0 after the \u20189-Run\u2019 debacle in 1962 by Barney & Co, a product of St.\u00a0 Sebastian\u2019s Moratuwa, will light up the very Thomian ground for the next three seasons in such a spectacular fashion and demolish bowlers all over!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1971 Season and the Two \u2018W\u2019s\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

My greatest joy during the 1970\/71 cricket season was to watch both\u00a0 captain Ravi Sathasivam and Duleep Mendis batting together at the centre\u00a0 wicket during practice under coach and admirer Mr. George Ponniah. They\u00a0 would pierce the packed off-side field with such precision \u2013 me (backward\u00a0 point), Arasu Saravanamuttu (cover point), Johnny de Saram (extra cover)\u00a0 and Rajan Saravanamuttu (wide mid-off) often had no chance as the ball\u00a0 sped to the boundary frequently.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While Satha was full of elegant touches, glances and drives on both sides of\u00a0 the wicket, with poise and timing, Duleep was the master of wrist and foot\u00a0 work, especially off the back foot, as well as sheer brutal force with his\u00a0 brilliant eye-hand coordination\u2026 square cuts, late cuts, booming cover\u00a0 drives, lofted drives, sweep and pull shots, he had it all. There was a touch\u00a0 of class even when they both defended.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both seemed to have so much time and at times were compared to the great\u00a0 West Indians of the 1950s \u2013 Satha to Frank Worrell and Duleep to Everton\u00a0 Weeks. Looking back now, in terms of potential, the comparison could also\u00a0 be made to the \u2018Two Great Richards\u2019 \u2013 Satha to South African Opener Barry\u00a0 Richards and Duleep to West Indian Master Blaster, Sir Vivian Richards!\u00a0 Such was their unique talents as schoolboys. Duleep at times has also been compared to India’s \u201cVishy” (Gundappa Viswanath), who had an elegant and\u00a0 wristy batting style.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Satha and Duleep were at their very best when they combined to annihilate\u00a0 Wesley College in one of the finest partnership at Mount Lavinia. I was\u00a0 watching their breath-taking batting performance from the scorers\u2019 box as\u00a0 they both in an exhibition of the highest class destroyed Tyrone Jansz the\u00a0 fasted bowler in school cricket that year. The faster he bowled the quicker\u00a0 the ball was despatched viciously to the fence \u2013 often straight past him\u00a0 peppering both the sightscreen and the college office building \u2018Thalassa\u2019 \u2013 I\u00a0 could hear the \u2018thud\u2019 in the scorers box amidst all the wild cheering going on\u00a0 that Saturday afternoon!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ravi<\/p>\n

Ravi Satha batting against Ananda College 1971, at Mount \u2026<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"...Ravi<\/p>\n

\u2026Ravi Satha square driving to the fence\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

1971 Royal-Thomian\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The first innings of both Royal and STC at the 1971 Big Match featured\u00a0 some of the finest batting performances from both teams on a good wicket.\u00a0 Royal skipper Jagath Fernando displayed great form and concentration to\u00a0 break Ronnie Reid\u2019s long-standing batting record of 158* set in1956 with an\u00a0 unbeaten 160.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jagath, Royal College Rugby Captain and former CR and FC and Sri Lanka\u00a0 Flyhalf, was involved in two century partnerships including a record 185 for\u00a0 the 2<\/span>nd <\/span>wicket with the Gajan Pathmanathan, an elegant and stylish player,\u00a0 who was unlucky to miss out on a well-deserved century when he was\u00a0 caught and bowled by Sunil Wijeratne for an explosive 97 in just 110\u00a0 minutes. It was a top class batting performance by both Jagath and Gajan \u2013 admired by even the most parochial Thomians. I first witnessed the\u00a0 brilliance of the Gajan (RIP) when he scored a sparkling century (106 in 113\u00a0 minutes, with 12 fours and 2 sixes) against us in a under 14 match at the\u00a0 small clubs (junior) grounds in June, 1967. A real tragedy that we lost him\u00a0 quite young.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Remarkably, Jagath was associated with four Royal Thomian batting records\u00a0 that year – highest individual score, the first batsman in the series to score\u00a0 a century before lunch, record for the highest partnership for the second\u00a0 wicket of 185 runs and also the batsman who had the highest aggregate in a\u00a0 Royal- Thomian match until that year of 203 (160* and 43).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After Royal declared at 295 runs for 2 wickets at the fall of Gajan\u2019s wicket,\u00a0 shell-shocked STC responded with an impressive 246 for 5 which included\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

three contrasting but wonderful knocks. Skipper Ravi Sathasivam dazzled\u00a0 us with scintillating strokes in a gem of an innings of 54 \u2013 unfortunately cut\u00a0 short by a lapse of concentration following a break in play for a slight\u00a0 drizzle. The cover-drives from Satha that afternoon were exquisite, racing\u00a0 effortlessly to the boundary.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His dependable opening partner Kamal Samarasinghe batted solidly to\u00a0 contribute a valuable 60 before he got run out. Kamal was involved in\u00a0 century partnership with Duleep who scored the first of his two hundreds in\u00a0 a Big Match. \u201c<\/span>Cometh the hour, cometh the man<\/span><\/i>\u201d – when the situation is\u00a0 challenging, Duleep is the man the Thomians could count on to deliver, and\u00a0 he delivered an unbeaten 103* in fine style \u2013 an innings of real character,\u00a0 discipline and determination!\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In Jagath Fernando, Gajan Pathmanathan. Ravi Sathasivam, Duleep Mendis\u00a0 and Kamal Samarasinghe we witnessed some of the best and stylish\u00a0 batsmen of that era.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jagath made a typical bold declaration in the second innings setting a\u00a0 sporting target of 163 and at one stage the Thomians were sitting pretty at\u00a0 80 for 1, but a brilliant diving catch by Jayaweera in the covers to get rid of\u00a0 Duleep caused panic among the middle order. However, with the help of\u00a0 Arasu Saravanamuttu 15* and for the second year in a row tail-ender Sunil\u00a0 Wijeratne having to face a nervous few deliveries, with his customary\u00a0 forward defence that almost kisses the ground, STC held out to a nail-biting\u00a0 draw with the score at 128 for 8. Exciting game in the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1971 RT Score Summary<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Royal 1<\/b>st <\/b>Innings<\/b>: 295 for 2 declared (Jagath Fernando 160*, Gajan\u00a0 Pathmanathan 97)\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

STC 1<\/b>st <\/b>Innings<\/b>: 246 for 5 declared (Ravi Sathasivam 54, Kamal\u00a0 Samarasinghe 60, <\/span>Duleep Mendis 103*, <\/b>Asitha Jayaweera 3 for 64)\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Royal 2<\/b>nd <\/b>Innings<\/b>: 113 for 3 declared (Jagath Fernando 43, Gajan\u00a0 Pathmanathan 35, G.D.V. Perera 2 for 39)\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

STC 2<\/b>nd <\/b>Innings<\/b>: 128 for 8 declared (Ravi Sathasivam 26, Kamal\u00a0 Samarasinghe 35, <\/span>Duleep Mendis 31, <\/b>Asitha Jayaweera 2 for 30, H.S. Yapa\u00a0 4 for 52)\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Result: <\/b>Drawn<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Heroes<\/p>\n

Heroes from the 1956 Royal-Thomian\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Jagath Fernando (RC) and Duleep Mendis (STC) emulated the unique feat of\u00a0 centuries from both teams in a Royal-Thomian – achieved by T. Jothilingam\u00a0 (RC) and Ronald Reid (STC) in 1956 and previously by F.C. de Saram (RC)\u00a0 and N.A. de S. Wijesekera (STC) in 1931.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Build-up to the 1972 Royal-Thomian\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Our top trio of Duleep, Kamal Samarasinghe and Ranil Abeynaike had\u00a0 missed the best part of the opening games of the 71 \/72 season as all three\u00a0 were making valuable contribution to the Ceylon Schools Team against a\u00a0 strong Australian Schools team that had players of the calibre of Graham\u00a0 Yallop and Ray Bright, future Australian test stars.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As captain of the 72 STC team Duleep carried tremendous responsibility\u00a0 over a relatively young and inexperienced team. On his first game back from\u00a0 national duty he scored a superb unbeaten 98 against Ananda in an\u00a0 unbroken partnership of 152 for the 2<\/span>nd <\/span>wicket with Kamal, when he\u00a0 declared unselfishly, just two short of a classy century. In the next game\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

against St. Joseph\u2019s on a tricky wicket the top order collapsed against Rajiv\u00a0 Benedict and co in a low scoring drawn game dominated by the bowlers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although we beat Trinity the following week thanks to a good team-effort in\u00a0 the final game before the Royal Thomian against Roy Dias\u2019s St. Peter\u2019s there\u00a0 was a bit of pressure on Duleep to fire. After dismissing St Peter\u2019s cheaply in\u00a0 the first innings Duleep was lying down in the dressing room with his pads\u00a0 on when the first wicket fell. He then marched out and plundered the\u00a0 Peterite bowling attack to all parts of the field with a brilliant 112. The\u00a0 skipper however was more delighted that the crop of freshers L.P. de Silva,\u00a0 Manotharan and Johnny de Saram (batting at 4, 5 & 6) had all contributed\u00a0 with the bat and young spinners Ajith Abeygunawardena and Ravi\u00a0 Abeywardene had bowled superbly to dismiss St Peter\u2019s cheaply in the\u00a0 second innings \u2013 trouncing SPC by an Innings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Leading sports writer T.M.K. Samat wrote, <\/span>\u201cAs a preview before the \u2018Big\u00a0 Confrontation\u2019 at the Oval, everything came out glowingly for the Thomians.\u00a0 Last week, the Thomians not only triumphed handsomely over the Peterites,\u00a0 but clearly, outmatched Royal\u2019 success over the Peterites earlier this season.\u00a0 In these final days before the game they\u2019ve waited the whole year for \u2013 days\u00a0 in which the team live in hope, fear and tension, a success like the one the\u00a0 Thomians achieved last week can have tremendous psychological advantage.\u00a0 But that apart the most heart-swelling aspect of it comes from the knowledge\u00a0 that they have emerged a team built on the talent of all eleven and not just a\u00a0 few personalities which was the case earlier this season\u2026\u2026.But against\u00a0 Royal a team which must rank the best in the School now, the challenges and\u00a0 situations the Thomians will face are certain to be different than their\u00a0 sweeping advances in the past two weeks\u2026. This team will be hard put to\u00a0 match the Thomian team of 1964 \u2013 which was when they last won over Royal.\u00a0 It was skippered by Premalal Gunasekera, in later years produced\u00a0 Representative cricketers in Anura Tennekoon, Sarath Seneviratne, Sriantha\u00a0 Rajapakse and Mevan Pieris.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Score Summary:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

St Peter\u2019s 1<\/b>st <\/b>Innings<\/b>: 70 (N. Wiratunga 16, D. Martin 15, H.D.K. Silva 2 for\u00a0 9, Ranil Abeynaike 5 for 19)\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

STC 1<\/b>st <\/b>Innings<\/b>: 300 for 6 declared (A.D.H. Samaranayake 24, <\/span>Duleep\u00a0 Mendis 112<\/b>, L.P de Silva 49, S. Manotharan 22, F.J. \u2018Johnny\u2019 de Saram\u00a0 49*, Ranil Abeynaike 27, M. Abeysekera 3 for 77)\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

St Peter\u2019s 2<\/b>nd <\/b>Innings<\/b>: 93 (R. Obeysekera 19, Roy Dias 22, L. Jobsz 13, M.\u00a0 Abeysekera 13*, Ajith Abeygunawardena 4 for 28 Ravi Abeywardene 4 for\u00a0 21)\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Result: STC won by an innings and 137 runs<\/b>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1972 Royal-Thomian\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Following the win over St. Peter\u2019s we played a midweek practice game at SSC\u00a0 against a fairly strong club team assembled by head coach P.I. \u2018Ian\u2019 Pieris\u00a0 and included PI as well as both our assistant coaches Neil Chanmugam and\u00a0 Mevan Pieris \u2013 all three top international class bowlers. Against this strong\u00a0 attack Duleep scored a confident sixty including two effortless sixes over\u00a0 mid-wicket sweeping Neil from possibly outside the off-stump, while I failed\u00a0 and was justifiably named 12<\/span>th <\/span>man for the Royal- Thomian.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For the first time that year (1972) it was arranged that the whole squad be\u00a0 accommodated in the arts room (next to the dining hall) at College from\u00a0 Thursday to Sunday morning, with the RT being played on Friday and\u00a0 Saturday.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We had our final practice at the Colombo Oval on Thursday and we all\u00a0 gathered at the college makeshift \u2018bunker\u2019. I vividly remember the steely\u00a0 determination in Dulla\u2019s eyes. The press were pretty much touting <\/span>\u201cget\u00a0 Duleep early and STC would crumble!\u201d <\/span><\/i>They rated Royal under Asitha\u2019s\u00a0 astute captaincy as a much better all round team. Not sure why when we\u00a0 had the calibre of Kamal, Ranil, HDK Silva who were also part of the Ceylon\u00a0 Schools squad, and lot of talent in rest of the team.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The greatness of any sportsman is to perform and execute their skills to\u00a0 their very best under immense pressure, and no doubt this was the going to\u00a0 be the biggest challenge for Duleep on the big stage. Following what may\u00a0 have been a radio interview on sports roundup Duleep mentioned that\u00a0 evening around 7.30 pm that he was having a slight temperature and took a\u00a0 couple of disprins. I wondered at that time if it was all the pressure and\u00a0 tension building up to the big match.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Duleep borrowed a two rupee gold-coin from me in the dressing room just\u00a0 before he walked out for the toss. From the moment he went out to toss I\u00a0 could sense something special was to unfold – He returned to the pavilion,\u00a0 delighted having won the crucial toss and deciding to bat first. He seemed\u00a0 calm and confident as he returned the coin and started strapping his pads.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kamal Samarasinghe who had been in very good form that season for both\u00a0 College and the Ceylon Schools opened the batting with vice-captain ADH\u00a0 Samaranayaka (Sam). To our utter disbelief Kamal got out without troubling\u00a0 the scorers when he nicked one behind and with the score 1 for 1 (one\u00a0 coming off a wide) in just the second over. While the Royal supporter were\u00a0 jubilant there was nothing but dead silence and high tension in our dressing\u00a0 room. All eyes were on Duleep as he put on his \u2018Blue, Black & Blue\u2019 Thomian cap and walked to the middle in his inimitable swagger – yes he\u00a0 had that swagger much before Viv Richards!<\/span><\/p>\n

The Rest as they say is \u2018History\u2019\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Heroes<\/a><\/p>\n

He played himself in and before long started to get on top of the bowling\u00a0 with Sam looking solid at the other end. At the first water break after 45\u00a0 minutes when I carried the drinks to the middle the score was already\u00a0 around 50\/1 with Duleep well set in his 30s. I could clearly detect from\u00a0 those steely eyes, the strong determination and that something really\u00a0 extraordinary was about to unfold.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He was feeling very confident as he took some sips of \u2018Necto\u2019, wiped his brow\u00a0 and told me in Sinhala \u201c<\/span>Adha mang thennang Relay Carnival<\/span><\/i>\u201d (Today I will\u00a0 give them Relay Carnival!). In other words there will be a massive leather\u00a0 hunt coming up shortly. And boy what unfolded over the next three hours of\u00a0 batting was an exhibition of the highest class against a really good spin\u00a0 attack led by Asitha Jayaweera and well supported by both Jayantha\u00a0 Amerasinghe and Samuel Lawton.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It was a freakish innings of sheer brilliance and total dominance. It was\u00a0 another occasion when on the big stage under extreme pressure he had\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

executed all his skills and made sure his bat did all the talking loud and\u00a0 clear!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Keeping Duleep hydrated during his epic 184!\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

It was a wonderful privilege to have been part of Duleep\u2019s team, even as a\u00a0 mere 12th man at the 1972 Royal-Thomian, carrying drinks to him during his epic 184.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Records Galore<\/b>!\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In making 184 (two-thirds of the Thomian 1st innings score!) he broke\u00a0 Jagath Fernando\u2019s superb 160 not out, set the previous year. He scored\u00a0 over 100 runs in the afternoon session between lunch and tea going from 75\u00a0 to 184.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Also in scoring two consecutive Royal-Thomian centuries, Duleep joined the\u00a0 company of Royalist Neil Joseph who in 1925 scored his first RT century, a\u00a0 magnificent 113 made in only 65 minutes, followed up with 133 in 1926.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Duleep also emerged with the highest aggregate in the RT Series by\u00a0 compiling 386 runs in six innings (for a staggering Bradman like average of\u00a0 96.5), while improving on Ronald Reid\u2019s aggregate of 325.<\/span><\/p>\n

1972 RT Score Summary<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

STC 1<\/b>st <\/b>Innings<\/b>: 286 for 9 declared (<\/span>Duleep Mendis 184<\/b>, A.D.H.\u00a0 Samaranayaka 39, Ranil Abeynaike 27, S.A. de Silva 3 for 51, Asitha\u00a0 Jayaweera 3 for 75)\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Royal 1<\/b>st <\/b>Innings<\/b>: 267 for 8 declared (S.A. de Silva 91 run out, Asitha\u00a0 Jayaweera 53, Ajith Abeygunawardena 2 for 57, Ranil Abeynaike 2 for 79)\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

STC 2<\/b>nd <\/b>Innings<\/b>: 124 for 2 declared (Kamal Samarasinghe 30, A.D.H.\u00a0 Samaranayaka 29, Duleep Mendis 30*, L.P. de Silva 14*)\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Royal 2<\/b>nd <\/b>Innings<\/b>: 8 for no loss\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Result: <\/b>Drawn\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The last occasion I met Duleep was on 14 March1992 at the Basin Reserve,\u00a0 Wellington (20 years after his heroics at the Colombo Oval) during the World\u00a0 Cup when he was coach of Sri Lanka and I was working for BP Oil (NZ).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Captained by Arjuna Ranatunga, who scored a valiant 64*, Sri Lanka that\u00a0 day beat a strong South African team that had \u2018white-lightening\u2019 Alan\u00a0 Donald at his quickest especially when he knocked out the top three\u00a0 batsmen cheaply.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Soon after the game I was in the Sri Lankan dressing room when Peter\u00a0 Kirsten came in to sportingly shake hands with everyone including Duleep\u00a0 and finally me, dressed in a blazer and tie, mistaken as part of the Sri\u00a0 Lankan Management Team!!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These are wonderful fresh memories of a Champion Cricketer and a\u00a0 Champion Gentleman who was head and shoulders above most of his\u00a0 contemporaries and yet was always a man of few words filled with genuine\u00a0 humility and kindness. He dazzled us with dynamism, dedication and\u00a0 determination!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When the legendary Indian-born English Cricketer Duleepsinhji retired from\u00a0 cricket through recurring illness, Wisden wrote of him: “<\/span>Of singular charm\u00a0 of character; extremely modest of his own wonderful ability; and with\u00a0 a love for the game which transcended his joy in all other pastimes,\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

He will always be remembered as one of the outstanding personalities\u00a0 during his period.\u201d <\/i><\/b>Wisden could copy and paste exactly the same\u00a0 expressions of our own Duleep!\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It gives me tremendous pleasure in wishing Duleep the very best of health,\u00a0 happiness, peace and continued success on his special 70<\/span>th <\/span>Birthday.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

My Best Wishes also to his soulmate Dilhara and rest of his loving family. God Bless! – <\/span>Ravi Rudra (STC 1<\/span>st <\/span>XI, 1971\/72 to 1972\/73)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Click here to receive your free copy of the eLanka Newsletter twice a week delivered directly\u00a0to\u00a0your\u00a0inbox!<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Special Memories of My Skipper Duleep Mendis by Ravi Rudra     Dear Dulla, Wishing you a Very Happy 72nd \u00a0Birthday. Thank you for the Golden Memories. God Bless Ravi Rudra   Special Memories of my Skipper Duleep Mendis\u00a0 In 1962 (3rd Term fixture) fresher Barney Reid in only his second 1st XI game\u00a0 for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":141058,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[69455,69456,69454,69459,69461,69451,69449,69462,69452,63644,69458,69460,69453,69450,63326,69457],"class_list":{"0":"post-141053","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-aside","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-articles","8":"tag-1972-royal-thomian-match-highlights","9":"tag-duleep-mendis-184-innings","10":"tag-duleep-mendis-achievements","11":"tag-duleep-mendis-and-stc","12":"tag-duleep-mendis-batting-records","13":"tag-duleep-mendis-birthday-tribute","14":"tag-duleep-mendis-cricket-legacy","15":"tag-duleep-mendis-personal-reflections","16":"tag-duleep-mendis-royal-thomian-memories","17":"tag-ravi-rudra","18":"tag-ravi-rudra-cricket-memories","19":"tag-royal-thomian-cricket-match-history","20":"tag-sri-lankan-cricket-captains","21":"tag-sri-lankan-cricket-history","22":"tag-sri-lankan-cricket-milestones","23":"tag-stc-cricket-legends","24":"post_format-post-format-aside"},"yoast_head":"\nSpecial Memories of my Skipper Duleep Mendis by Ravi Rudra - eLanka<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jagath Fernando (RC) and Duleep Mendis (STC) emulated the unique feat of\u00a0 centuries from both teams in a Royal-Thomian - achieved by T. Jothilingam\u00a0 (RC) and Ronald Reid (STC) in 1956 and previously by F.C. de Saram (RC)\u00a0 and N.A. de S. Wijesekera (STC) in 1931.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Special Memories of my Skipper Duleep Mendis by Ravi Rudra\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jagath Fernando (RC) and Duleep Mendis (STC) emulated the unique feat of\u00a0 centuries from both teams in a Royal-Thomian - achieved by T. Jothilingam\u00a0 (RC) and Ronald Reid (STC) in 1956 and previously by F.C. de Saram (RC)\u00a0 and N.A. de S. Wijesekera (STC) in 1931.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"eLanka\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-25T05:49:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Happy-birthday-.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"eLanka admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"eLanka admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"17 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"eLanka admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd\"},\"headline\":\"Special Memories of my Skipper Duleep Mendis by Ravi Rudra\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-25T05:49:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/\"},\"wordCount\":3246,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Happy-birthday-.png\",\"keywords\":[\"1972 Royal-Thomian match highlights\",\"Duleep Mendis 184 innings\",\"Duleep Mendis achievements\",\"Duleep Mendis and STC\",\"Duleep Mendis batting records\",\"Duleep Mendis birthday tribute\",\"Duleep Mendis cricket legacy\",\"Duleep Mendis personal reflections\",\"Duleep Mendis Royal-Thomian memories\",\"Ravi Rudra\",\"Ravi Rudra cricket memories\",\"Royal-Thomian cricket match history\",\"Sri Lankan cricket captains\",\"Sri Lankan cricket history\",\"Sri Lankan cricket milestones\",\"STC cricket legends\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/\",\"name\":\"Special Memories of my Skipper Duleep Mendis by Ravi Rudra - eLanka\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Happy-birthday-.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-25T05:49:45+00:00\",\"description\":\"Jagath Fernando (RC) and Duleep Mendis (STC) emulated the unique feat of\u00a0 centuries from both teams in a Royal-Thomian - achieved by T. Jothilingam\u00a0 (RC) and Ronald Reid (STC) in 1956 and previously by F.C. de Saram (RC)\u00a0 and N.A. de S. Wijesekera (STC) in 1931.\u00a0\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Happy-birthday-.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Happy-birthday-.png\",\"width\":600,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"Special Memories of my Skipper Duleep Mendis\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/category\/articles\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Special Memories of my Skipper Duleep Mendis by Ravi Rudra\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/\",\"name\":\"eLanka\",\"description\":\"eLanka - Sri lanka events in Australia\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\",\"name\":\"eLanka\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg\",\"width\":192,\"height\":82,\"caption\":\"eLanka\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/elanka\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SriLankanDownUnder\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd\",\"name\":\"eLanka admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"eLanka admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/author\/elanka\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Special Memories of my Skipper Duleep Mendis by Ravi Rudra - eLanka","description":"Jagath Fernando (RC) and Duleep Mendis (STC) emulated the unique feat of\u00a0 centuries from both teams in a Royal-Thomian - achieved by T. Jothilingam\u00a0 (RC) and Ronald Reid (STC) in 1956 and previously by F.C. de Saram (RC)\u00a0 and N.A. de S. Wijesekera (STC) in 1931.\u00a0","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Special Memories of my Skipper Duleep Mendis by Ravi Rudra","og_description":"Jagath Fernando (RC) and Duleep Mendis (STC) emulated the unique feat of\u00a0 centuries from both teams in a Royal-Thomian - achieved by T. Jothilingam\u00a0 (RC) and Ronald Reid (STC) in 1956 and previously by F.C. de Saram (RC)\u00a0 and N.A. de S. Wijesekera (STC) in 1931.\u00a0","og_url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/","og_site_name":"eLanka","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/","article_published_time":"2024-08-25T05:49:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Happy-birthday-.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"eLanka admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"eLanka admin","Est. reading time":"17 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/"},"author":{"name":"eLanka admin","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd"},"headline":"Special Memories of my Skipper Duleep Mendis by Ravi Rudra","datePublished":"2024-08-25T05:49:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/"},"wordCount":3246,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Happy-birthday-.png","keywords":["1972 Royal-Thomian match highlights","Duleep Mendis 184 innings","Duleep Mendis achievements","Duleep Mendis and STC","Duleep Mendis batting records","Duleep Mendis birthday tribute","Duleep Mendis cricket legacy","Duleep Mendis personal reflections","Duleep Mendis Royal-Thomian memories","Ravi Rudra","Ravi Rudra cricket memories","Royal-Thomian cricket match history","Sri Lankan cricket captains","Sri Lankan cricket history","Sri Lankan cricket milestones","STC cricket legends"],"articleSection":["Articles"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/","name":"Special Memories of my Skipper Duleep Mendis by Ravi Rudra - eLanka","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Happy-birthday-.png","datePublished":"2024-08-25T05:49:45+00:00","description":"Jagath Fernando (RC) and Duleep Mendis (STC) emulated the unique feat of\u00a0 centuries from both teams in a Royal-Thomian - achieved by T. Jothilingam\u00a0 (RC) and Ronald Reid (STC) in 1956 and previously by F.C. de Saram (RC)\u00a0 and N.A. de S. Wijesekera (STC) in 1931.\u00a0","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Happy-birthday-.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Happy-birthday-.png","width":600,"height":400,"caption":"Special Memories of my Skipper Duleep Mendis"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/special-memories-of-my-skipper-duleep-mendis-by-ravi-rudra\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/category\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Special Memories of my Skipper Duleep Mendis by Ravi Rudra"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/","name":"eLanka","description":"eLanka - Sri lanka events in Australia","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization","name":"eLanka","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg","width":192,"height":82,"caption":"eLanka"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/elanka\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SriLankanDownUnder"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd","name":"eLanka admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"eLanka admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew"],"url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/author\/elanka\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141053"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":141059,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141053\/revisions\/141059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}