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After losing the first 4 matches, Engand scored 321 in the fifth match and hoped that they are certainly in the hunt. But Jayasuriya had other plans. He simply destroyed the English bowling attack and Sri Lanka won the match with 75 balls to spare. He was 37 at that time and his reflexes were amazing. Even short arm jams were clearing the ropes. The Matara Mauler is one of the greatest all-rounders ever in ODIs.
He was one of the few batsmen, who could hit sixes easily over third man against fast bowlers. His effortless cuts and flicks of the quicks carried the ball many times over the rope. My old classmate who was a fitness freak and had an almost perfect adonis ratio was talkative about Jayasuriya’s forearms. I had nodded my head so many times after listening to his explanation about fitness, even though I didn’t know how to lift even a small dumbbell.
- Series – Sri Lanka tour of England, NatWest 5 Match ODI Series, 5th ODI
- Year – 2006
- Venue – Headingley, Leeds
- Date – 1 July, 2006
- Result – Sri Lanka won
- Margin – 8 Wickets
- Player of the match – Sanath Jayasuriya
- Series won by – Sri Lanka
- Margin – 5-0
- Player of the series – Sanath Jayasuriya
Written on June 2016