LIVE SCORE

By BV Swagath

Talking about Sanath Jayasuriya...my mind dwindles back to the big semifinals at the Eden Gardens in the 1996 Wills World Cup. Sri Lanka were batting first in this high pressure game and shivers started in my mind as Sanath Jayasuriya walked in with little Kaluwithrana. I was unable to digest the way this Lankan opener had ended the career of my then favourite cricketer – Manoj Prabhakar at the Kotla and the career of this bowler was ended in just 4 overs of bowling to Sanath Jayasuriya! Jayasuriya had got out for a duck this time and that was a big relief for me and the entire Indian population. Even after 8 years, shivers with the same magnitude cross my mind whenever Sanath Jayasuriya is batting against India.

So what makes this man so intimidating? What makes this man cause sleepless nights to many opening bowlers in the World? Its because of the way Sanath bats with utmost disrespect to the bowlers, an amazing hand-eye co-ordination and the shining and powerful forearms which send the ball flying to the ropes at lightning speed. Sanath Jayasuriya changed the face of an otherwise submissive Sri Lankan Cricket to roaring levels with the small island becoming the World Champions in 1996. A shrewd tactical move by the smart Arjuna Ranatunga of having Jayasuriya to open the innings has paid rich dividends and this must be one of the turning points in Lankan Cricket.

Cricket in Sri Lanka was at one stage restricted to only Colombo and Kandy, and for an aspiring cricketer to come from a small remote village of Matara was always an uphill task. But a determined Sanath Jayasuriya came through all these initial hurdles and was all set to climb new heights in World Cricket. He was initially in the National side as an orthodox left arm slow bowler who could play some neat cameos in the slogs. Asanka Gurusingha in a tour of New Zealand in 1992 was injured during practice and that gave Jayasuriya to open the innings for the first time. Jayasuriya made a thunderous 87, but after Gurusingha was fit, he had to revert back to the lower middle order. But the brainwork of Ranatunga struck at the right time and Sanath Jayasuriya was going to open with the explosive Romesh Kaluwithrana during the 96 World Cup. The two openers were given an open license to go after the bowling from ball1. From that tournament to today, what has happened with Jayasuriya and Sri Lanka, the whole world knows!

Some of the breathtaking batting records are with this Master Blaster from Matara. He holds the record for the fastest fifty in One Day Internationals, a pulverizing half century coming in just 16 balls off a Pakistani attack at Padang, Singapore. He also held the record for the fastest hundred in ODIs which was broken by another bludgeoning batsman Shahid Afridi. Jayasuriya blasted Chris Harris for 28 runs in an over and that became the record for the most expensive over in ODIs. He has the record for the most number of sixes in a one day innings – 12 in total against Pakistan. Sanath has a special love and affection for the Indian bowling attack just like the former Pakistani great Saeed Anwar. A monumental knock of 340 at Premadasa was what Sanath gave the Indian bowlers in test matches and a whirlwind 189 at Sharjah in One Dayers. Thanks to Sourav’s back of the hand slower delivery, Sanath Jayasuriya’s innings ended at 189 or it could have been an individual score of 220 or so. The latest record which has encouraged Cricketfundas.com to write a tribute on this Master Blaster is the HIGHEST RUN GETTER for Sri Lanka in One Dayers surpassing the record of the great Aravinda De Silva.

Sanath took over as captain of the Sri Lankan team from Arjuna Ranatunga after the World Cup debacle of 1999. Those were real difficult times for Sri Lankan cricket and Sanath held the players together which gradually progressed into a team which had the talent and the ability to be a formidable one in its own way ! His captaincy improved and flourished from match to match and season to season. Under Sanath's captaincy, Sri Lanka did win many titles/trophies like the Morocco Cup, Sharjah Cups on a few occasions and he also helped Lanka to reach the World Cup 2003 Semi-Finals, before bowing out to the Aussies. And during his stint as captain, the highlight of this man was to lead from the front which inturn motivates his team-mates to win matches and indeed he was a successful captain.

The trouble with Sanath Jayasuriya is if he fails with the bat, he still can make his presence felt with his intelligent left arm turners. And when he clicks with the bat and the ball, then Sri Lanka would only have cakewalk victories. Sanath Jayasuriya is a marvelous fielder with deadly accurate throws which has and had run out many batsmen and has changed the outcome of quite a few matches. A man who shows no mercy to bowlers early on in a one-dayer !A man who helps his team set unchasable targets with his whirlwind starts and who could make mockery of targets of 300 and above. With all these qualities, Sanath Jayasuriya would just walk in to the list of All Time Greats.