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Before Rohit Sharma’s explosive starts... before Virender Sehwag’s fearless hitting, before Brendon McCullum’s step-out sixes, there was one man who showed the world how to truly dominate the powerplay — Sri Lanka’s very own Sanath Jayasuriya!
Sanath Jayasuriya — the name that sent chills down the spines of bowlers in the 1990s and early 2000s. The man who redefined the art of opening the innings in One Day Internationals.
Born on June 30, 1969, in Matara, Sri Lanka, Jayasuriya was the face of Sri Lankan cricket’s rise on the world stage.
Jayasuriya made his international debut in 1989, but his game-changing moment came much later, during the 1996 Cricket World Cup. Originally a middle-order batsman, Jayasuriya was promoted to opener by Arjuna Ranatunga in the 1996 World Cup, a decision that would change cricket history. Until the 1996 World Cup, openers were expected to be cautious, taking time to build an innings. The idea of smashing bowlers in the first 10 overs? Almost unheard of. But Jayasuriya? He tore that playbook apart.
With a brutal combination of fearless hitting, fast footwork and the ability to find gaps, Sanath Jayasuriya, along with Romesh Kaluwitharana, turned the first 15 overs into a nightmare for bowlers.
During the 1996 World Cup, he smashed 221 runs in just 6 innings at a strike rate of 131, an unimaginable number back then. His fearless strokeplay helped Sri Lanka lift their first-ever World Cup trophy, and his approach changed ODI cricket forever.
But Jayasuriya wasn’t just about ODI fireworks. He played 110 Test matches, scoring almost 7,000 runs, including a mammoth 340 against India in Colombo — still one of the highest Test scores of all time.
And don’t forget — he was a genuine all-rounder. His left-arm spin fetched him over 440 international wickets across formats. There were times he’d win matches with the ball when the bat was silent. Add to that his electric fielding and bullet throws — Sanath Jayasuriya was the quintessential modern-day all-rounder.
In an era when T20 cricket didn’t exist, Jayasuriya brought that explosive T20 mindset to ODIs — hitting bowlers out of the park and thrilling millions around the world.
Over a glittering career spanning two decades, Jayasuriya scored more than 13,000 ODI runs — including 28 centuries — and led Sri Lanka to numerous memorable wins.”
“More importantly, his fearless style laid the foundation for a new era of aggressive opening batting. Players like Gilchrist, Sehwag, McCullum, and even today’s stars like Warner and Rohit owe a part of their batting DNA to the path Jayasuriya paved.”
“Some of his staggering records include — the fastest fifty in ODIs at one time, the second-highest individual ODI score of 189 against India, and a player of the tournament award in the ’96 World Cup.
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