Men of Steel

TILLAKARATNE DILSHAN

Did you by any chance call him old? Well, that stirred him up didn't it? Tillakaratne Dilshan smashed away Sri Lanka's early woes in the tournament with a punishing 161 off 146 balls. The way he sprinted those doubles and consistently shifted to drive those switch hits, made him seem half his age. There were no sixes in his innings and yet it seemed as exciting as some of the other more aggressive knocks in the World Cup. Perhaps the best aspect of his game was that unlike the other two batsmen who got a chance to play, Dilshan didn't provide the Tigers with any opportunities. It's a new beginning for Dilshan in the mega event and can perhaps propel the Lankans to a fresh start as well.

SAMIULLAH SHENWARI

Shenwari came on to bat after fall of two quick wickets. Scotland had the Afghanis on the mat and were looking poised to  break their 10-match duck before his knock took the team across the line. Samiullah Shenwari waged a lone battle with the tail and stood firm and with the help of the tail enders, took the game by the scruff of its neck. He chewed up a lot of deliveries but once he came into his own, played a gem of a knock to almost take his team through and nearly scored a hundred .He smashed seven fours and five sixes in his 147-ball 96 before he was caught by Davey.