Top three innings of Sanath Jayasuriya against India in ODI
Sanath Jayasuriya was an outstanding player in ODIs and is considered one of the greatest to have played the game. Known as the ‘Matara Mauler’, he amassed 13430 runs and took 323 wickets with his left-arm spin, which makes him one of the greatest all-rounders. He had a special liking for India and saved some of his best innings for those matches.
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Sharjah, 2000 (189)
The Sharjah Champions Trophy 2000 final was between Sri Lanka and India. Jayasuriya played a remarkable innings and almost single-handedly led his team to victory. Sri Lanka’s captain got off to a great start with Romesh Kaluwitharana after choosing to bat first. However, the team suffered a collapse and slipped from 90/1 to 116/4.
Jayasuriya steadied the ship with Russel Arnold and continued to bat brilliantly. He scored his hundred before reaching 150 in just 35 deliveries. He looked set to become the first player to score 200 runs in ODIs before he was stumped off Sourav Ganguly’s bowling for 189 off 161.
Jayasuriya’s whirlwind knock seemed to have sapped all confidence out of the Indians, who crumbled appallingly to a meager total of 54. Chaminda Vaas took five wickets and Sri Lanka won by 245 runs, thanks to the captain’s brutal display.
Colombo, 2004 (130)
In the 2004 Asia Cup, Sri Lanka faced India at the R Premadasa Stadium. India batted first and scored 271/6 with half-centuries from Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, and captain Ganguly. Sri Lanka’s response was strangled by India’s collective bowling, but Jayasuriya played a brilliant inning and scored a century at over a run-a-ball.
With 18 runs needed off the last three overs, Sri Lanka had six wickets in hand and were favourites to win. However, Sehwag dismissed Jayasuriya for a 132-ball 130 and Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan took wickets to give India a thrilling win. Despite the loss, Jayasuriya’s epic innings was outstanding.
Karachi, 2008 (125)
The 2008 Asia Cup final was held at Karachi’s National Stadium. MS Dhoni chose to field first and Ishant Sharma took four wickets to have Sri Lanka struggling at 66/4 in 12 overs. Jayasuriya mounted a remarkable counter-attack and smashed a century off 79 balls. He flayed the bowlers and threatened to power Sri Lanka towards 300 before Sehwag dismissed him.
Despite being bowled out, Sri Lanka managed to post 273 thanks to Jayasuriya’s 115-ball 124. Sehwag gave India a fast start, but Ajantha Mendis’ mystery bowling trapped the Indian batters and he took 6/13 to secure a 100-run victory and the Asia Cup for Sri Lanka.
