That old India hand

Jayasuriya could easily add quite a few more innings to this list 8212; knocks such as 79 in Delhi during WC1996 which finished Manoj Prabhakar8217;s career and the 199 he smashed in Colombo in 1997.

But he would rather speak about the gems he has strung against India. 8220;I remember my knock of 340 at this very venue. I don8217;t regret missing out on a world record. In that Test, I batted to save the match for my team. Indians had earlier run up a 500-plus total. My priority was to put the match beyond their reach.8221;

Jayasuriya did so in style 8212; he made 340, put on 566 runs for the second wicket with Roshan Mahanama 225 and Sri Lanka ran up a record score of 952/6 declared.

Then came the knock three years later which has left him with a lasting sense of regret. 8220;I made 189 in Sharjah in 1999. I didn8217;t start off well because we lost a few wickets early on. Then Russell Arnold and I built a stand. I could have easily got a 200 that day.8221;

Now comes the 130 against his favourite opponents in Asia Cup, a knock which ended when Jayasuriya hit off-spinner Virender Sehwag high in the air to be caught by the bowler himself.

8220;I wanted to finish off the job. 18 runs were required from as many balls. I didn8217;t want the match to go to the wire,8221; he said.

But the match did go to the wire. India emerged winners by four runs because Jayasuriya had left the scene when a win could have materialised by picking up singles. In the destruction Jayasuriya has wreaked on the Indians in his career, Venkatesh Prasad and Anil Kumble are the two bowlers who perhaps have suffered the most. PTI