I still get flashbacks of Lahore attack: Jayawardene

The terrorist attack on the SL team bus on March 2009 in Lahore still haunts the then captain Mahela Jayawardene.

The terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus on March 2009 in Lahore still haunts the then captain Mahela Jayawardene,who says he still gets the flashbacks of the nerve wracking incident.

The attack on the Lankan team on March 3,2009 claimed six lives,including that of the bus driver and left seven cricketers besides the assistant coach injured.

I still get flashbacks, Jayawardene told The Guardian.

At first,the guys were saying,Why would anyone let off crackers at eight in the morning? But then someone shouted: No,theyre shooting at us 8212; get down, recalled Jayawardene while citing the proceedings of that day when a dozen masked gunmen attacked the team bus on the way to the Gaddafi Stadium on the third day of the second Test match.

The 32-year-old,however,feels that they were very lucky to have survived the attack.

Lying on the floor,I thought,There is no way were going to get through this. There was no talking 8212; just screaming and shouting. Whenever anyone got hit by shrapnel they would scream. We were very,very lucky to be alive at the end of it, he reveals.

Meanwhile,speaking about the recent loss to India in the World Cup final at Mumbai,which saw the stylish right-hander score a scintillating ton to guide his team to a competitive total,Jayawardene said M S Dhoni-led team deserved to win.

275 in a World Cup final is a good score and when we had them 30-2 I was hopeful. But India deserved to win, he said.

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Even if I would have preferred to win,I was happy with my batting. When you consider the occasion and the situation we were in,it was good, he added.

The Sri Lankan cricket team,which has lost a bit of its sheen in the wake of subsequent retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga from Test cricket,awaits a tough task when they take on a resurgent England side in an away series under a new captain in Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Its a challenging time 8212; especially as we wont have a genius bowling from one end. Well need a different mentality to win games without Murali,and its going to be much tougher, he said.

He,however,remains optimistic. Dilshans very street-smart and hell do well as captain. Its not a bad situation. Having scored 9,527 Test runs,Jayawardene is aiming to reach the 10k mark.

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Lets hope the 10,000 mark comes against England. I set this target three years ago and once I make it Ill decide whats next. But there will be another target because that keeps the hunger going. Youve always got to challenge yourself 8212; because you never know what might happen next. On the recent allegations of match-fixing levelled by former Sri Lanka Test cricketer Hashan Tillakaratne,the batsman said,I think its hot air. If hes got evidence its great because we cant have this in our cricket. But we need solid proof. Hes had enough time to speak to the ICC and hes not gone about it in the right manner.8221;