On a Sunday afternoon at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC), Colombo, Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene scripted a fine Test farewell for himself.
His final -149th-Test match had been moved to his home ground in Colombo, the Pakistan team gave him a guard of honour in both innings, he batted with his best friend Kumar Sangakkara to add together a 100-plus partnership for the 19th time and also scored his 50th Test half-century.
After a 17-year-long career, which has seen several highs and lows, Jayawardene walks away as one of the classiest batsmen to have played the game in the modern era.
The stylish right-hander’s penchant for big scores blended with a dash of lazy elegance made him a treat to watch. When on song, there were very few who could match Jayawardene’s fluency through covers or use their wrists to perfection while flicking the ball off the pads. Another salient feature in his successful batting manual was the habit of playing the ball late, a trick he has used to perfection while playing the ball behind the wicket. He was like an artist, whose masterpieces involved a lot of last-minute brush strokes.
With 11,814 runs, Jayawardene finished as the second-best No.4 batsman in Tests, behind Sachin Tendulkar (13,492 runs).
Jayawardene also divided opinions. His lopsided home-away record meant he became the first batsman to score more than 10,000 Test runs but at an average of under 50 at the time of retirement. Out of 11,814 Test runs, as many as 7,167 have been scored in Sri Lanka at an average of just under 60.
Despite his appetite and ability to amass big scores at will, his weakness and susceptibility to extra pace and bounce outside the sub-continent, earned him the dubious title of a ‘flat track bully.’ Out of the 34 Test tons (at par with Sunil Gavaskar and Don Bradman) and 50 fifties, 10 tons and 34 fifties were scored in Sri Lanka.
A tally of six double centuries and one triple ton is perhaps, one of the most prominent achievements in his illustrious Test CV. In 1999, a 22-year-old Jayawardene, who had just one Test ton to his name, defied the likes of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in Colombo to score 242 of his team’s total of 485. Those were early signs of the sheer genius that was to follow for over a decade.
One of the finest hours of his Test career came in England in 2006. In hostile conditions, where he was perceived to be ordinary, Jayawardene’s gritty 119 help Sri Lanka save the Test at Lord’s. Despite losing the next game at Edgbaston, the newly-appointed captain then put all his leadership skills on display as Sri Lanka defended 325 at Nottingham to draw the series.
Jayawardene’s partnership, both on and off the field, with Sangakkara is a story that will be told for generations to come. Great friends off the field, this duo produced as many as 19 100-plus stands, the last one coming in Jayawardene’s final hurrah, like a cherry on the cake.
Back in July 2006, their partnership bore the fruit of a marathon 624-run stand for the third wicket at the SSC in Colombo, one that broke a 143-year-old record. At the receiving end were South Africa who could only stand up and applaud the application, grit and concentration of two champion batsmen. Jayawardene enthralled his home crowd with a scintillating essay of 374, the highest-ever by a right-handed batsman. Sri Lanka went on to win the game by an innings and 153 runs. �
Less than a week later, Jayawardene was in the spotlight again. This time in the second Test against South Africa at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium. Just when one thought his excellent knock of 374 could never be outdone, Jayawardene came out in a tense situation and steered his side to a thrilling victory. Chasing 352, Sri Lanka were tottering at 201 for five. Jayawardene stood helplessly at the non-striker’s end as the top-order crumbled. From that point on, Jayawardene anchored the Sri Lankan innings, displaying an uncanny combo of controlled aggression. When he fell for 123, Sri Lanka needed 19 runs with four wickets in hand. They went on to clinch the game by a wicket.
Jayawardene also turned out to be a fine Test captain. He and Sanath Jayasuriya held the record for leading the team to the highest number of Test wins (18 in 38). While his personal form with the bat dipped away from home, the team recorded a win each in England, New Zealand and West Indies.
As the sub-continental giant brings down the curtains on his fabulous career, the familiar crowd at the Sinhalese Sports Club at Colombo, who have cheered some of his best knocks from close proximity, will prepare a tearful send-off, on Monday, for one of the modern-day greats of the game.
