‘Whole country would have seen what we can do’ – Sanath Jayasuriya basks in glory of Sri Lanka’s historic ODI series win versus India

Sanath Jayasuriya and Charith Asalanka. (Photo Source: Sri Lanka cricket)

Sri Lanka’s interim head coach Sanath Jayasuriya guided the Island Nation to their first bilateral ODI series win against India in 27 years. Rohit Sharma and Co. suffered a 0-2 defeat in the three-match series after the first game was tied.

The last time India lost an ODI series against Sri Lanka was way back in 1997. Interestingly, Jayasuriya was the Player of the Series back then. This time, the former Sri Lankan captain orchestrated the win from the sidelines as his players put on a show at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, much to the delight of the home fans.

Sri Lanka were whitewashed in the three-match T20I series, which preceded the ODIs. However, they bounced back commendably and dominated India with some excellent cricket, especially in the last two ODIs. An emotionally charged Jayasuriya said he was happy to be part of Sri Lanka’s dressing rooms in their last two ODI series triumphs against India and lauded the players for bouncing back remarkably following the debacle in the T20Is.

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“It was a very long wait because that series I played in 1997 and got a lot of runs in that series. That was the last series we won against India. After 27 years, I am part of the team, and I am very happy to be part of these boys. They are a very nice bunch of players and are talented and the whole country would have seen what we can do,” Jayasuriya was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

“The boys went through a very, very hard time. Even during the T20 series, we played well, but the result was not what was expected. The players realised what went wrong when we came back to Colombo, and they started to play well,” he added.

Jeffrey Vandersay grabbed his opportunity with both hands: Jayasuriya

Sri Lanka lost several key players to injuries ahead of the series. The talismanic all-rounder, Wanindu Hasaranga, also got injured after playing the first ODI. Not many people gave the Lankans a chance against the No. 1 ODI team, but the hosts stepped up to script history. Jayasuriya hailed Jeffrey Vandersay, who played the last two games after Hasaranga’s exit and impressed with a six-for in the second ODI.

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“We have been working with players like Wellalage, Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Asalanka, all are very young players. Hasaranga got injured and Vandersay has been there for a long time but never got the opportunity and when we gave the opportunity, he grabbed it with both hands,” the 55-year-old said.