The Hindu : Sport : Jayasuriya licking his lips in anticipation

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 29, 2005

Sport

Sport

Jayasuriya licking his lips in anticipation

Sanjay Rajan

MARAUDER FROM MATARA: Sanath Jayasuriya has always done well against India and is looking forward to continuing in the same vein. — Photo: V.V. Krishnan

DAMBULLA: Sanath Jayasuriya found it difficult to hide his smile when he said, "We play India first." He was referring to the Indian Oil Cup tri-series. The southpaw's liking for the Indian attack is well known. His record speaks for itself: 1903 runs from 54 matches at an average of 38.83 with five centuries and 10 half-centuries.

But the Marauder from Matara dismisses such a notion saying, "Not really. Whenever I go in against any opposition, I try and get some runs. India is one of the best teams in the world and if I can score against them I'll be very happy."

Come Saturday and the stands at the picturesque Rangiri Dambulla Stadium will be choc-a-bloc. An India versus Sri Lanka clash is a big draw, but the Islanders hope to celebrate another event — Jayasuriya's 10,000th run.

"It's another milestone in my cricketing career. Of course I should not get worried about getting to it. I should just play my game. But it is a very big milestone, and I'll try and be positive about it," he said during the course of a warm-up match on Thursday.

Jayasuriya is 76 runs short of becoming only the third batsman in one-day cricket after Sachin Tendulkar (13,642) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (10,933) to achieve the landmark. He is already the Emerald Isle's highest run-getter in Test cricket with 6521 runs.

Effective bowler

The 36-year-old has also bagged 267 wickets in the abridged version of the game, where his nagging accurate left-arm spin has proved to be extremely effective. In fact, only the wizard off-spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan, has taken more one-day wickets for Sri Lanka.

It is the ferocity with which he competes that makes him a dangerous customer. He retains the same youthful zeal even after 16 years of international cricket.

The left-hander went through a difficult phase with the willow in 2003-04, which saw his place in doubt last season. He had stood down from captaincy after the side's poor performance in the 2003 World Cup. And Jayasuriya hadn't scored a century in 30 ODIs spread over 17 months.

The pressure was intense, especially with the Island's policy of youth in one-dayers in preparation of the 2007 World Cup. The system was baying for his blood.

But there was support in the form of skipper Marvan Atapattu, who kept saying, "I have full faith in Sanath. I know his ability. It's a question of just one knock."

Turning point

Last year's Asia Cup was the turning point. He began slowly though, scoring 21 against UAE, missed the preliminary match against India in Dambulla due to a side-strain, managed 20 against Pakistan in a second-phase match, and under mounting pressure scored a magnificent run-a-ball 107 against Bangladesh. Then came the big one: a 132-ball 130 against India in the super-league match.

"Marvan's (Atapattu) support was absolutely wonderful during that difficult phase," Jayasuriya said of his skipper, and turned in what was his finest year in Test cricket since 1997.

Jayasuriya scored a double hundred against Pakistan in the first Test in Faisalabad, a century in Karachi and was among runs when South Africa toured earlier. But he was not quite as dominating in one-dayers. "We did not play many one-dayers after the Pakistan Test series," he said.

Jayasuriya hopes to be around for the 2007 World Cup. "But I will take it tour by tour and see how it goes. As long as you are physically fit and you perform, that is what matters. I'm working hard on my fitness and that is the main priority apart from going and getting some runs in the middle," he said.

Taking about his current form, he said, "unfortunately I didn't get runs in the last two Tests (against West Indies), got out in 30s and 40s. But my confidence is good and I try to improve my game every day. I hate getting out in 30s and 40s, if you are set, you can't throw it away. So I was very disappointed."

About the present team, he said, "the focus of the unit is towards the 2007 World Cup. We have got some young all-rounders and we are really working on them. I keep telling them, it's easy to come into the side but to remain in it is the hardest part. You've got to put in hard work and concentrate on your cricket. I did all the hard work to come to this stage. You've to sacrifice a lot to remain in the team and continuously push forward. The youngsters should focus and dedicate themselves to the game."

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport