A majestic double hundred, the seventh by Mahela Jayawardane helped Sri Lanka reached a mammoth 730 for 6 declared against Bangladesh, a first innings lead of 498 runs on day three of the first Test in Mirpur yesterday.
Along the way 36-year-old former skipper also equaled the highest number of Test hundred by a Sri Lankan held by Kumar Sangakkara (33). He also became the world’s fourth batsmen to score seven or more Test double centuries while becoming the world’s sixth highest scorer in Test cricket eclipsing Allen Border (11174) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (11219). His unbeaten 203 in Mirpur yesterday took his Test match tally to 11238.
After his impressive performance Jayawardane said that it was pleasing to get those milestones, even though his intention was to help Sri Lanka put a decent score on the board.
“It feels good. At the end of the day what matters is that we put up a decent score on the board. That was the most important thing in the first two sessions. Along the way if I passed some milestones, I’m pretty pleased with that. We don’t set ourselves for that, but along the way if we achieve those things it gives a tremendous feeling,” Jayawardane said.
Jayawardane who is tied with Sangakkara for most Test hundreds said their healthy competition has helped them raised the bar.
“It’s definitely a healthy competition. If you see the number of matches, Kumar is way below me, so definitely he’s got the upper hand. I’m glad because he’s done tremendously well and sets standards for the rest of the guys to follow when it comes to batting consistently. I’m also trying to do that. I’m sure he’ll get one over me, hopefully in the next Test match,” he said.
Jayawardane applauded the performance of the young players particularly, Kaushal Silva and Kithuruwan Vithanage who made their maiden hundreds in the first innings.
“Kushal waited a long time for this opportunity. He looks very hungry for runs and he’s converting now those 50s into 100s. It’s always tough to get that first one. He was a bit nervous yesterday. I’m sure he’s a great find for us, especially up the order. The way Kithuruwan batted today – that’s the first time I batted with him – he looks very promising, very confident out there, the way he was striking the ball. All in all we’ve got some young talent coming through.
It’s important we give them the opportunity and guide them in tough situations and they’ll carry forward the good work we’ve done,” Jayawardane said.
Jayawardane also explained the reasons behind long delay to declare despite a healthy first innings lead.
“We were looking at 400 runs because the wicket still looks good, so we needed as much as we could get. We had made a call to try and give them about 15 overs, but the way Kithuruwan batted, the management and the captain decided to give us a few more overs. We got the message that we’d get another four-five overs max to try and get a 100 and a double hundred,” he explained.
