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Sanath Jayasuriya must be wondering what all needs to be done to get on the points table: he scored the fastest ODI century ever in England,...

Sanath Jayasuriya must be wondering what all needs to be done to get on the points table: he scored the fastest ODI century ever in England, helped Sri Lanka to put up such a mammoth total but still ended up on the losing side. Well, not only did his bowlers let him down, Jayasuriya8217;s team was taken aback by the splendid English counterattack too. Yes, the Lankan bowling was mediocre, but Marcus Trescothick laid good foundation for England, only for Alec Stewart and Paul Collingwood to set up the Lankan funeral.

The afternoon had a different script written all over it. Jayasuriya had to play an innings of his life not only to boost the sagging morale of his team but also to restore the pride of being world champions. It was an innings out of the ordinary as he clobbered the English bowlers to all corners of the Headingley. It was indeed a typical Jayasuriya innings, laced with tremendous power-packed drives that sent the bowlers on a leather hunt.

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SCOREBOARD

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Sri Lanka: S Jayasuriya c Kirtley b Hoggard 112, RS Kaluwitharana c Hussain b Gough 7, MS Atapattu c Stewart b Flintoff 18, DPMD Jayawardene b Flintoff 4, DA Gunawardene run out Hussain 20, UDU Chandana lbw b Gough 30, RP Arnold not out 17, WPUJC Vaas b Gough 4, KC Sangakkara not out 1, Extras lb-11, nb-3, w-13 27
Total: 7 wickets, 32 overs 240
Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-118, 3-132, 4-171, 5-201, 6-225, 7-233
Bowling: Gough 7-0-45-3, Hoggard 4-0-53-1, Kirtley 6-1-37-0, Flintoff 7-0-18-2, Collingwood 5-0-49-0, Irani 3-0-27-0

England: ME Trescothick c Vaas b Jayasuriya 82, NV Knight c 038; b Vaas 0, RC Irani c Jayawardene b Vaas 27, A Flintoff c Jayawardene b Arnold 20, N Hussain c Gunawardene b Fernando 0, GP Thorpe run out Sangakkara/Kaluwitharana 15, PD Collingwood b Fernando 38, AJ Stewart not out 38, D Gough not out 3, Extras lb-3, nb-5, w-10 18
Total: 7 wickets, 31.2 overs 241
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-69, 3-97, 4-98, 5-126, 6-171, 7-237
Bowling: Vaas 6-0-39-2, Zoysa 5.2-0-54-0, Arnold 5-0-42-1, Fernando 6-0-38-2, Chandana 5-0-40-0, Jayasuriya 4-0-25-1

Jayasuriya8217;s USP is his timing: when he hits the ball, it stays that way. Whether driving to the straight field or clipping square of the wicket, he ensured the fielders remained mere spectators. Jayasuriya had a poor Test series when his form slumped and when that happens to a captain, it becomes difficult for him to motivate his team.

I am sure he must have spent sleepless nights before this match. It was a 8216;do or die8217; effort for the Sri Lankan captain and to his great credit, he came out with flying colours. A total of 240 for seven in 32 overs was a great finish. Only, that he was up against a charged-up and a smart English team, led by the redoubtable Nasser Hussain. England is the last team to give up easily these days. As expected they tried to make a match of it right from the word go. Though they were chasing a massive total, what was important was that they decided to give it their best shot. They kept up the run-rate well under control throughout their innings and even though some wickets fell in the middle-order, they never fell way behind.

It was a good strategy to send in big hitters early. The man who gave them hope was Trescothick. He wasn8217;t smashing the bowlers around the park; he was more calculated than Jayasuriya. His improvisation and placements stood out and coming from such an intelligent 8212; I would say high-class 8212; batsman, it was worth watching each stroke of his. But for his gallant play, England may have lost the match.