Mahela Jayawardena

Profile

Mahela Jayawardena is regarded as one of the best players of his generation. In spite of his numerous achievements, he remains the most down to earth characters of the game and is an idolised player in his country.

A cricket fanatic since a very young age, Jayawardena captained his school’s Under-13 side, playing at the pivotal number three position. With his wonderful, flowing technique and his penchant for big runs, he quickly became one of the most promising players at school level. He debuted for Sinhalese Sports Club in 1995 and after slamming four centuries in the 1997-98 season, was fast tracked into Sri Lanka’s Test squad. He made an impressive debut against India carving a neat 66-run knock in a game in which Sri Lanka piled a mammoth 952-6. He made his ODI debut in 1998 and scored a fine 74 in only his second game. However his breakthrough innings was a 167 against New Zealand on a Galle pitch so treacherous that Stephen Fleming labelled it as a ‘dung heap.’

Thereafter, Mahela became a regular for Sri Lanka in Tests and ODI’s and has been a consistent performer over the years. An artistic 107 against England at Lord’s and a double hundred against a decent South African attack at Galle were just some of the highlights of his career during this period. In 2006, he was made captain for Sri Lanka’s Bangladesh tour after regular captain Marvan Atapattu was ruled out with a back injury. He then led a young Sri Lankan side to complete a 5-0 whitewash of England in an ODI series and draw level in the Test series. The fact that it was achieved in England; a country where few Asian countries had succeeded was a testimony to Jayawardena’s leadership qualities. After a brief stint at captaincy that included a berth in the 2007 WC final, he stepped down in 2009 with a view to concentrate on his batting. A sweet timer of the ball, Jayawardena is blessed with an immaculate technique and loads of patience. Equally adept of both the front and back foot, he is a fine cutter of the ball and a very good close in fielder. A team man to the core, he is credited for developing many of Sri Lanka’s youngsters into better cricketers. He was bought by the Delhi Daredevils in the 5th IPL edition after having represented Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Kings XI Punjab in the previous editions.

Fast Facts

• Mahela Jayawardena is the highest run getter for Sri Lanka in Tests.
• He became the first Sri Lankan to score more than 9000 runs in Tests.
• Mahela has also been the first Sri Lankan captain to score a Test triple century.
• He has scored centuries against every Test playing nation.
• Jayawardena has the most number of half centuries and centuries for a Sri Lankan in Test cricket.
• In 2006, he was named by ICC as the ‘Best International Captain of the Year”.
• Mahela was named as one of the five “Wisden Cricketers of the Year” in 2007 and was also ICC’s “Best Test Cricket Player of the Year”.

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Career

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