For 17 years, Mahela Jayawardene has been the fulcrum of Sri Lanka’s batting. Sri Lanka’s Little Master was a thorn in the flesh of any bowling attack.
The venue was Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. The match was the final of the 2011 ICC World Cup between India and Sri Lanka. India were keeping the Lankans in check and Tillakaratne Dilshan had just fallen to Harbhajan Singh. With pressure mounting, in walked a 33 year-old veteran of over 100 Tests and 300 ODIs. No, these were not just numbers and he was no ordinary player. Soon the Indians would find out why.
Mahela Jayawardene was India’s nemesis that day. With surgical precision, he began accumulating runs and steadily kept the scoreboard ticking. Then, in a flash of brilliance, Jayawardene shifted gears, unleashed a flurry of boundaries as the Lankans reached 274 for 6. Jayawardene scored 103 not out off 88 balls. It was laced with 13 boundaries. Yes, India went on to win the tournament, but Jayawardene was no less a hero.
Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene — yes, quite a mouthful indeed. The man has been more than a handful for some of the best bowling attacks in the world. The knock in the World Cup final was just one of many that the 37-year-old has played over the years for his country. Now, with Mahela’s Test career about to come to an end after the series vs Pakistan, it is time to celebrate the journey of one of the most dogged batsmen in the history of the game.
Blessed with sharp hand-eye coordination and gifted with nimble footwork, Jayawardene’s range of shots cover the entire field of play. By the man’s own admission, he does not look at the fielders but the gaps between them. After all, one does not play 147 Tests purely based on luck.
Between August 1997 and July 2014, Jayawardene scored 11,671 runs in the longer version and averages over 50. He is also one of the few to have scored 10,000-plus runs in Tests and ODIs. He is only the third cricketer, after Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya, to have played over 400 ODIs. Another feather in his cap is to have centuries in all three formats of the game. Many a time has he come to Sri Lanka’s rescue when the chips were down and has also excelled as a fielder and leader of men.
Mahela captained Sri Lankan in the 2007 ICC World Cup. Having led the team into the final, Jayawardene carried on the good work left by inspirational men like Sanath Jayasuriya, Aravinda de Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga. He was a man who led by example and hence commanded respect in the dressing room.
There is no doubt about his appetite for big scores. His innings of 374 against South Africa in 2006 is a testimony to just how long he can bat. The 165 in the second Test against South Africa in the recent series is ample proof that for him, age is just a number. In his last series at home against Pakistan, Mahela will be the biggest threat for the visitors.
Many have called him a flat-track bully, as the man averages almost double at home than he does overseas. However, Mahela is not flustered by such criticism. He lets his bat do the talking and when that happens, cricket lovers do take notice. He may be soft-spoken, but never one to back down from a fight as opponents over the years have found out.
Very few sub-continental superstars can time their retirement to perfection. Mahela has been an exception. He quit the T20 format after Sri Lanka won the World T20 in Bangladesh earlier this year. The decision to quits Tests after back-to-back series against South Africa and Pakistan was a perfect cover drive. Still good for ODIs, the 2015 World Cup could be his final swansong.
With more than 600 international games, Mahela adds to the list of modern greats like Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis, who ruled the game like great artists control their paintbrush.
So the journeyman is set to reach his destination. What lies beyond the realm of retirement is unknown. Perhaps now Jayawardene will have time to enjoy life as a layman, free from the pressures of Test cricket. So instead of mourning the fact that a great cricketer is no more going to grace the field, let the cricket loving public celebrate Mahela Jayawardene, and his amazing journey through the annals of cricketing history. One thing is certain, his name will be a part of cricket folklore in generations to come.
