Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardena handed over the reins as the
country’s cricket captain to his successor in style with two big records
to his credit after the Two Test series against Pakistan.
Jayawardena and Thilan Samaraweera broke a 52 year old record during
the first Test in Karachi adding 437 runs for the fourth wicket,
Jayawardena striking 240 and Samaraweera 231.
They broke the existing record for the 4th wicket (411) set by the
late Colin Cowdrey (154) and the late Peter May (285 n.o) in Birmingham
in 1957.
In July 2006 Mahela Jayawardena (374) and Kumar Sangakkara (287)
established a third-wicket stand of 624 against South Africa at the SSC
grounds.
It seems that the Sri Lankans have been in the habit of breaking big
partnerships. In 1997 Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama, with a
576-run stand for the 2nd wicket against India at the R. Premadasa
Stadium, set up a new record.
Jayawardena, who has paved the way for a new captain, has led his
country in 26 Test matches and has an impressive record. His memorable
achievement as the skipper is undoubtedly taking Sri Lanka into the
finals of the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean Islands. He has won Test
matches in England, New Zealand and the West Indies. And he also made a
5\0 clean sweep against England in the ODI series in England.
In the 26 Tests he has captained , Jayawardena has won 15 and lost
seven. In the 96 ODI’s as captain, he has won 54 and lost 35.
Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene was born on May 27,
1977. His early coaches spotted his talents and he youngster represented
the country in youth teams and the A team before entering the Test
arena.
Mahela made his Test debut at the SSC against India in 1997 in a
memorable, record-breaking match. Sri Lanka made 900 plus and Mahela
scored half a century.
 Having
played the game with Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda de Silva, Sanath
Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama, Mahela progressed naturally towards the
captaincy.Jayawardene became the first Sri-Lankan captain to score a
Test triple-century, making 374 off 572 deliveries with 43 fours and one
six, the fourth highest individual score in Test match cricket and the
best by a right-hander. He is also the first batsman to pass 350 in a
Test without going on to break the world record. He also surpassed the
highest score by a Sri Lankan in a Test match, previously Sanath
Jayasuriya’s 340 in 1997 against India.
He was also chosen as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2007. In the
2007 Cricket World Cup, Jayawardene hit one century and four
half-centuries and was the second highest run-scorer in the list topped
by Australia’s Matthew Hayden.
His century, which came against New Zealand helped Sri Lanka win the
Semi-Final. Sri Lanka finished runners-up in the World Cup losing to
Australia in the Final.
He has scored centuries against all Test-playing nations. He achieved
this feat on February 21, 2009 by scoring his maiden Test century
against Pakistan at the National Stadium in Karachi, Pakistan.
Mahela is the Recipient of International Cricket Council’s “Captain
of the Year 2006” inaugural award, Captain of the “World One-Day
International Team of the Year 2006”, Captain of the “Spirit of Cricket
Award 2007” Team.
In an early interview with the Sportstar, he said “at the end of the
day what really matters is the runs you get. My natural instinct is to
go for the shots. That’s the way I play.”
Answering the question ‘what has cricket taught you about life’,
Mahela said: “There is so much uncertainty in cricket. One day you can
get a hundred, the next day you can be dismissed for a zero. It makes
you become practical about things, teaches you to accept both success
and failure. I think I have learnt a lot about life from cricket.”
- Ranjan
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