Thilan Samaraweera had the perfect welcome to the Test arena, with the right-hander making 103 not out in his side’s crushing innings victory over India.
It began a love affair with the Sinhalese SC Ground, where he hit another two centuries in his next two appearances at the venue.
Inconsistency plagued Samaraweera, who was constantly dropping in and out of the side.
Finally, in 2008, the gifted player made back-to-back centuries against the West Indies and India to cement his spot in the side.
The return to form continued in 2009, where Samaraweera played some of his best cricket.
Despite the tragedy suffered on tour, Samaraweera had earlier enjoyed unrivalled success on the placid Pakistani pitches.
A career-best 231 at Karachi was followed by a picture-perfect 214 in Lahore.
Samaraweera finished his career with 14 Test centuries to go along with two ODI hundreds.
