Sanath Jayasuriya
- Date of Birth 1969-6-30
- Role allrounder
- Batting Style left-hand bat
- Bowling Style slow left-arm orthodox
Debut Matches
| Format | Match | Date |
|---|---|---|
| TEST | NZ vs SL | 1991-02-22 |
| ODI | AUS vs SL | 1989-12-26 |
| T20 | SL vs ENG | 2006-06-15 |
| vs | 1970-01-01 |
Recent Performances
Batting Statistics
Matches
110
Innings
188
Runs
6973
Average
40.07
Strike Rate
65.18
Highest Score
340
100s
14
50s
31
Fours
910
Sixes
59
Catches
78
Bowling Statistics
Matches
110
Innings
140
Wickets
98
Average
34.34
Economy
2.46
Strike Rate
83.5
Best Figure
5/34
4 Wickets
6
5 Wickets
2
Balls Bowled
8188
Runs Conceded
3366
Batting Statistics
Matches
445
Innings
433
Runs
13430
Average
32.36
Strike Rate
91.2
Highest Score
189
100s
28
50s
68
Fours
1500
Sixes
270
Catches
123
Bowling Statistics
Matches
445
Innings
368
Wickets
323
Average
36.75
Economy
4.78
Strike Rate
46
Best Figure
6/29
4 Wickets
8
5 Wickets
4
Balls Bowled
14874
Runs Conceded
11871
Batting Statistics
Matches
31
Innings
30
Runs
629
Average
23.29
Strike Rate
129.15
Highest Score
88
100s
0
50s
4
Fours
76
Sixes
23
Catches
4
Bowling Statistics
Matches
31
Innings
24
Wickets
19
Average
24
Economy
7.37
Strike Rate
19.5
Best Figure
3/21
4 Wickets
0
5 Wickets
0
Balls Bowled
371
Runs Conceded
456
Batting Statistics
Matches
557
Innings
542
Runs
16128
Average
31.19
Strike Rate
Highest Score
189
100s
31
50s
82
Fours
Sixes
Catches
153
Bowling Statistics
Matches
557
Innings
Wickets
413
Average
34.85
Economy
4.75
Strike Rate
43.9
Best Figure
6/29
4 Wickets
12
5 Wickets
5
Balls Bowled
18167
Runs Conceded
14396
Batting Statistics
Matches
111
Innings
109
Runs
2317
Average
22.71
Strike Rate
140.08
Highest Score
114*
100s
1
50s
12
Fours
252
Sixes
114
Catches
21
Bowling Statistics
Matches
111
Innings
92
Wickets
77
Average
25.75
Economy
7.46
Strike Rate
20.6
Best Figure
4/24
4 Wickets
1
5 Wickets
0
Balls Bowled
1593
Runs Conceded
1983
It's hard to imagine that for the first half-decade of his career Sanath Jayasuriya was considered a bowler who could bat a bit. Think of him now and you think of forearms straight out of a smithy, shots hammered through point and cover, and balls scythed over the leg side: a man who could score briskly in every form of the game and who slashed and burned his way through bowling attacks.
As with anyone who relied so much on extraordinary hand-eye coordination, there were troughs and lean times, but just as the obit writers got busy, Jayasuriya would produce another innings of supreme power. The slow left-arm bowling, always canny and relying more on variations in pace than on sharp turn, became the support act, though 440 international wickets will tell you that he was pretty adept at what he did.
Jayasuriya, who had trawled the lower reaches of the middle order till then, had his first stint as ODI opener during the Hero Cup in India in 1993, and established himself in the role during a home series against Pakistan the following year. By the time the World Cup rolled around in 1996 he had already chalked up his first century in Tests, a frenetic stroke-filled effort in Adelaide.
People remember Aravinda de Silva's magical innings from the semi-final and final of the 1996 World Cup but it was Jayasuriya's withering assaults that deflated India in Delhi and England in the last eight. Soon after, he began to exact as heavy a toll on Test attacks, scoring at such a pace that Muthiah Muralidaran and friends had ample time to work their way through opposition batters.
Jayasuriya had a four-year stint as captain that ended with a semi-final appearance at the 2003 World Cup, and just as the whispers grew about diminishing returns with the bat, he had one of his most successful years in 2004. There was a retirement announcement in 2006, but he was back within weeks, finally walking off the Test stage 18 months later, after a typically cavalier 78 in Kandy.
In one-dayers, he took Sri Lanka to another World Cup final in 2007, and he was instrumental in the Asia Cup win of 2008, a couple of months after it had seemed that the selectors' axe had fallen for the final time. The IPL gave him a new platform to showcase his big-hitting talent, but failure to replicate the success of the first season in subsequent campaigns was the sign that time had finally caught up.
Jayasuriya's election as a member of parliament in April 2010 and his subsequent failure at the T20 World Cup suggested his international career might have ended, but he made the longlist for the 30-man squad for the 2011 World Cup, though he didn't play in the tournament. His last ODI and T20I came weeks shy of his 42nd birthday, in England later that year.