Tillakaratne Dilshan, born on October 14, 1976 in Kalutara, is a Sri Lankan cricket all- rounder. He converted to Buddhism from Islam and was earlier known as Tuwan Mohammad Dilshan. While in India for the Indian Premier League series, Tillakaratne Dilshan married Manjula Thilini, a Sri Lankan actress, in a traditional Indian wedding ceremony. This wristy right-handed batsman is a natural timer of the ball and faces fast bowlers comfortably besides being quick between the wickets.
Tillakaratne Dilshan made his Test debut for the Sri Lankan national cricket team on November 18, 1999 against Zimbabwe and scored his first Test century, an impressive 163, during the series. In 2003, he came back in to the team and gave a commendable performance against England and Australia. In 2005, Tillakaratne Dilshan scored his highest Test score till date of 168 runs from 179 balls in a match against Bangladesh. As of 2008, he has featured in 47 matches and has made a total of 2533 runs, including twelve 50s and five 100s.
On December 11, 1999, Tillakaratne Dilshan made his One Day International (ODI) debut for Sri Lanka against Zimbabwe. His all-round skills come in very handy in one-day matches, especially his off-spin bowling, which is effective on slow pitches, and his fielding. In the first final of the 2006 VB series against Australia, he ran out four opponents, helping Sri Lanka win the match and his brilliant performance fetched him the Man of the Match award. In the 152 matches that Tillakaratne Dilshan has played as of 2008, he has made a total of 2994 runs, which include fourteen half-centuries and one century. He also has 46 wickets to his credit, his personal best bowling figure being 4/29.
On June 15, 2006, Tillakaratne Dilshan played the first Twenty20 International (T20I) match of his career against England and since then has participated in seven international matches, amassing seventy runs, with a highest score of 38 runs. During the Indian Premier League (IPL), Tillakaratne Dilshan played for the Delhi Dare Devils team, which signed him for a bid amount of US$ 250,000. He played in six matches during the tournament and made a total of seventy one runs, with a highest score of 25. He also took one wicket and his best bowling statistic read 1-3.
