OTD | Sanath Jayasuriya became the fourth batter to be dismissed for 199 in a Test innings in 1997

Sanath Jayasuriya was one of the best batters in red-ball cricket in Sri Lanka. He was an incredible batter who batted fearlessly throughout his career. He was also the former captain of Sri Lanka, a living legend, and a vital member of the Sri Lankan team that won the 1996 Cricket World Cup. Currently, he is the head coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team. 

He was the best all-rounder during his time and has taken more than 300 wickets in ODI cricket. He has many world records to his name but one of the most hilarious yet heartbreaking ones is that he became the fourth batter to be dismissed for 199 runs in 1997. While playing against India in 1997, in the 2nd Test match, Jayasuriya scored 199 runs and was dismissed by Abey Kuruvilla. 

He missed his triple century by just one run, one of the most heartbreaking moments in cricket. Both teams showed excellent batting performance in the game, with five centuries coming in during the five-day match. However, the match could not reach any results and was drawn in the end. In 226 balls, Jayasuriya scored 199 runs and was bowled by Kuruvilla. 

Jayasuriya was the most valuable player in the 1996 Cricket World Cup, scoring 19,298 runs as an opener in international cricket, the most by any opener in history. Sanath Jayasuriya is the only cricketer in history to achieve the all-rounder double of scoring 10,000 runs and taking 300 wickets in a single format. Moreover, in ODI cricket, in his career, he took 323 wickets at an average of 36.75, including 12 four-wicket hauls.

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