OTD | Sri Lanka’s all-time great Mahela Jayawardene was born in 1977

On this day, back in 1977, former Sri Lankan cricketer Mahela Jayawardene was born. Notably, the Sri Lankan cricketer is known as one of the greatest batters in Sri Lanka cricket and has taken the game to the epitome of excellence with his huge and magnificent success. The star cricketer guided his side to win the 2008 Asia Cup title under his leadership, and he was the first Sri Lankan batter in the history of the ICC T20 World Cup to score a century.

Speaking about his international journey, the right-handed batter made his Test debut in August 1997, while he made his ODI debut in January 1998. The greatest batter had appeared in 652 matches for his side in a career spanning about 18 years, as well as forged a healthy relationship with Kumar Sangakkara during his playing days. Mahela is the first player in the history of red-ball games to amass 10,000 Test runs and the second Sri Lankan star to hammer over 10,000 runs for his nation in the ODIs.

The great batter was the pivotal member of his side in the 2014 T20 World Cup, where the Sri Lankan side defeated MS Dhoni-led Team India in the final game to lift the title. However, the dashing batter was part of his side that made it to the finals of the 2007 World Cup, the 2011 World Cup, the 2009 T20 World Cup, and the 2012 T20 World Cup. Notably, Mahela hammered a magnificent tonne in the final game of the 2011 World Cup; however, MS Dhoni and Co. outclassed the Sri Lankan side to become the champions at Wankhede Cricket Stadium in Mumbai.

Mahela Jayawardene holds the unique record of being the only player as of now to hammer the century in the semi-final and final of the World Cup. The star cricketer was inducted into the Cricket Hall of Fame in 2021, and he is only the third Sri Lankan cricketer to be inducted into the hall of fame after Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara.

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