OTD| Mahela Jayawardene retired from international cricket in 2014

Mahela Jayawardene was an elegant, prolific as well as legendary who provided so many brilliant knocks throughout his career. The former Sri Lanka batter was constituent as well as pretty much committed to his game which showed the quality of innings that he played across the format and not only his batting but also his captaincy was something which caught the attention of fans all around the globe. 

The most memorable are the cuts and dabs he plays behind the stumps, mostly off spinners, but also against quick bowling, when the bat makes contact with the ball delightfully late. Apart from his artistry, what stands out about his batting is his hunger for big scores, most apparent in his record 624-run partnership with Kumar Sangakkara, but also in the regularity with which he notches up Test double-hundreds. And his century against Zimbabwe in the World Twenty20 in 2010 was a shining example of traditional methods succeeding in a new format.

At the time he was just breaking into the international fold, and there was never any question about his inherent ability as a batsman; yet, Jayawardene’s hardest problem has been to live up to the initial hype. It is safe to say that his performance has more than sufficiently answered his task with more than 10,000 runs across both Tests as well as ODIs plus a captaincy which included a final of the World Cup appearance.

Jayawardene scored runs across all over the wicket thanks to his outstanding technique as well as gifted hand-eye coordination. His favorite strokes include the leisurely cover drive, which frequently requires little footwork but excellent placement including timing, and the wristy flick off his legs, although he also plays a number of different strokes admirably. 

It was on this day when the Sri Lankan legend retired from international cricket on this very day and went on to play his last Test match against Pakistan at R Premadasa in Colombo. In his last Test inning, Jayawardene scored a valuable 54 runs.