Sanath Jayasuriya

Sanath Teran Jayasuriya (born 30 June 1969 in Matara, Dominion of Ceylon) is a Sri Lankan cricketer. An all-rounder, he has been a member of the Sri Lankan cricket team since 1989. He is the only player to score more than 13,000 runs and capture more than 300 wickets in one day internationals. He is also regarded by many critics and supporters as one of the best ODI players to ever play the game.

Jayasuriya is part of the Mumbai Indians team in the Indian Premier League where he presently opens the batting alongside Sachin Tendulkar.


Personal life
Jayasuriya was born to Dunstan and Breeda Jayasuriya in Matara and had his education at Servatius College, Matara. It was there that his cricketing talents were nourished by the Principal, G.L. Galappathy and coach Lionel Wagasinghe.[3]. He has an elder brother, Chandana Jayasuriya.

His wife, Sandra, is a former flight attendant for Sri Lankan Airlines. Sanath and Sandra have 3 children.

Sanath Jayasuriya is the first cricketer to be appointed as a UN Goodwill Ambassador (by UNAIDS, Geneva) for his commitment to prevention of HIV/AIDS among young people in Sri Lanka.



Style and International Career
Test debut : New Zealand v Sri Lanka at Hamilton - Feb 22-26, 1991 ODI debut : Australia v Sri Lanka at Melbourne - Dec 26, 1989 T20 debut : England v Sri Lanka at Southampton, Jun 15, 2006 Along with partner Romesh Kaluwitharana, Jayasuriya revolutionized one day international batting with his aggressive tactics during the 1996 Cricket World Cup. The tactic used was to take advantage of the early fielding restrictions by smashing the opening bowlers to all parts of the cricket ground, rather than the establishment tactic of building up momentum gradually. This was a novel but potentially match-winning tactic at that time, and Sri Lanka, who had previously never made it out of the preliminary rounds, went on to win the World Cup without a single defeat. This soon became the standard opening batting strategy in limited overs cricket. Glenn McGrath cited Jayasuriya in his toughest XI batsmen, noting "it is always a massive compliment to someone to say they changed the game, and his storming innings in the 1996 World Cup changed everyone's thinking about how to start innings."[4]

Jayasuriya is known for both cuts and pulls along with his trademark shot, a lofted cut over point. Jayasuriya was promoted to the top of the batting order for ODIs during the 1995-96 tour of Australia, and, with Romesh Kaluwitharana they made use of the early over fielding restrictions to score freely. He was instrumental in Sri Lanka's victory in the 1996 Cricket World Cup, where he was adjudged Man of the Tournament in recognition of his all-round contributions.

His philosophy towards batting is summarised by an all-aggression approach and over the years he has dominated almost every one day bowling combination that he has faced at one stage or another. Batsmen such as Adam Gilchrist and Virender Sehwag have similar styles. This is because of his incredible record to make huge match-winning contributions once he gets in, he holds the record for the second highest number of one day centuries and has scored the most 150+ scores. His devastating performances have ensured that Sri Lanka have won almost 80% of the matches that he scores over 50 in. This is due to the rapid rate in which he scores his runs as well as the psychological effect he has on opposition bowling attacks.

He was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1997 and served as captain of the Sri Lankan team in 38 Test matches from 1999 to 2003. He is a very useful all-rounder with a good batting average in both Test cricket and One Day Internationals, and an excellent batting strike rate in One Day Internationals.

As a left-arm orthodox spin bowler, he has a reasonable bowling average and economy rate. He regularly helps to decrease the workloads of strike bowlers Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas and as of August 2007 has 400 international wickets.

Jayasuriya is a skillful infielder, with a report prepared by Cricinfo in late 2005 showing that since the 1999 Cricket World Cup, he had effected the seventh highest number of run-outs in ODI cricket of any fieldsman, with the eleventh highest success rate.[5]

Jayasuriya held the record for the highest Test score made by a Sri Lankan, 340 against India in 1997. This effort was part of a second-wicket partnership with Roshan Mahanama that set the then all-time record for any partnership in Test history, with 576 runs. Both records were surpassed in July 2006 when fellow Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene scored 374 as part of a 624-run partnership with Kumar Sangakkara against South Africa.

He also holds the world's second highest ODI score, jointly with Viv Richards, which is 189 runs against India. As of February 2007 he holds the four highest individual scores by a Sri Lankan, and seven of the top nine.[6]

He currently holds the record fastest fifty in ODIs, scored off just 17 balls. Jayasuriya was the previous record-holder for the fastest century (off 48 balls), before losing that claim to Shahid Afridi of Pakistan. He has hit 258 sixes in one day internationals (ODIs) and currently holds the world record for most ODI sixes. He has become the fourth batsman to score more than 10,000 runs and the second batsman to score more than 12,000 runs in the history of ODIs. He also is the second highest century getter in ODIs with 27 centuries. On 20 September 2005, during the Second Test of the home series against Bangladesh, Jayasuriya became the first Sri Lankan to play 100 Tests, and the 33rd Test cricketer to achieve this feat. He used to hold the record of scoring most runs in an ODI over (30; he has achieved this remarkable feat twice).This record is now with South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs (36 runs in an over).

Jayasuriya announced his intention to retire from Test cricket following the Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka in April 2006. He reversed his decision soon after, however, joining the Sri Lankan cricket team in England in May 2006. Missing the first two Tests, Jayasuriya returned in the Third Test at Trent Bridge.[7] Although his test performances were not notable, he scored two centuries in the one-day Natwest series, including scoring 152 off 99 balls in the final match. In that innings, he and Upul Tharanga (109) put on 286 runs for the first wicket, a new record[8]. Jayasuriya's batting display earned him the Man of the Series award as Sri Lanka won the series 5-0.

Following the Natwest Trophy, Sri Lanka travelled to Holland for a two-match one-day series. In the first game, Jayasuriya scored 157 off 104 balls as Sri Lanka posted 443/9,[9] beating the 438/9 South Africa scored against Australia in March 2006. Sri Lanka won the match by 195 runs. On a personal note the innings was his 4th score of over 150 in ODI cricket and he is currently the only player to do so. It was also his second successive score of 150 plus, another first in ODI cricket.

He also scored 2 centuries and 2 half-centuries in the 2007 Cricket World Cup held in the West Indies.

During the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, Jayasuriya appeared to break his tradition of using Kookaburra bats by wielding a normal Reebok sponsored bat. He achieved two half centuries in the group stages against New Zealand and Kenya in this tournament. He also achieved a dubious record of having the most expensive figures in a Twenty20 international, having been hit for 64 runs in the maximum of 4 overs.[10]

After the Twenty20 World Cup, Jayasuriya played in Sri Lanka's 3-2 One Day International series defeat against England, achieving limited success and then in the 2-0 Test series defeat in Australia. After scoring a half-century on day three of the first Test against England in Kandy, he announced he was to retire from Test cricket[11] at the end of the match, but that he would continue to play in One Day Internationals. He also hit six fours in one over against James Anderson in his last Test innings of 78.

In December 2007, Jayasuriya confirmed that he has signed for Warwickshire for the 2008 Twenty20 Cup.[12] In April 2008, he joined the Mumbai Indians to play in the IPL.

After scoring a devastating 114 not out off just 48 balls [13] for the Mumbai Indian against Chennai Jayasuriya regained his position in the one day side after he had been dropped for the West Indies tour. He then followed up his century with a 17-ball 48 not out to surpass the Kolkata Knight Riders score of 67 in just the 6th over resulting in the biggest victory in Twenty20 history (in terms of balls remaining.[14] He currently leads the six-hitting board and is the tournament's 3rd highest run scorer with 514 runs at a strike rate of about 160. His one-day career was all but over when he was omitted for the ODIs in the West Indies in 2008. However, a stirring performance in the IPL - finishing the third-highest run-getter with 514 runs - prompted his country's sports minister to intervene in his selection for the Asia Cup. He ultimately shaped Sri Lanka's title victory with a blistering hundred under pressure



International Records
He has amassed the second highest ODI score, 189 runs, with Viv Richards.
He currently holds the record for fastest fifty in ODIs, scored off just 17 balls.
Jayasuriya jointly holds the record for most sixes in an ODI innings, 11, with Shahid Afridi. He hit the sixes during an innings of 134 from 65 balls against Pakistan, in Singapore.
Jayasuriya holds the record for most fours in an ODI innings, 24 fours.
He is currently the second highest run scorer in ODIs with 13,154 runs. (Sachin Tendulkar is first with 16,684).



He is the only batsman in history to have four ODI scores above 150.
He is the only batsman in history to have two consecutive ODI scores above 150.
Jayasuriya holds the record for the fastest 150 in an ODI innings, off 95 balls against England in 2006.
He is currently the second highest centurion in ODIs with 28 under his belt (second only to Tendulkar (43)).
He held the record for the fastest century in ODIs, scored off just 47 balls, before Shahid Afridi scored a century of 37 balls against Sri Lanka.
He holds the record of most number of 6s in ODIs. He currently has 270 sixes in his career.
He held the record for scoring the most runs of an ODI over, 30, a feat which he achieved twice, against Pakistan and New Zealand. Herschelle Gibbs of South Africa broke the record by hitting 6 sixes in an over from Daan van Bunge, against the Netherlands.
Jayasuriya has second most Man of the Match awards (47) in ODI cricket after Sachin Tendulkar (58).
He was also the first player to play in 400 ODIs matches.
He is the third batsman in test cricket to hit 6 fours in one over. He did this against England in his last test innings.
He is the oldest player to have scored a ODI century, performing the feat against India at Dumballa, Sri Lanka on 28 January 2009. He was 39 years 212 days, beating Geoffrey Boycott's record of 39 years 51 days.
He is the player that holds most no of world records in ODIs and also he has broken most no of world records in cricket history than any other player.