On this day in 2014: Sri Lanka give Mahela Jayawardene a fitting farewell from Test cricket
Former Sri Lanka cricketer Mahela Jayawardene is regarded as one of the finest batsmen produced in the history of cricket. Apart from stunning the world with his batting skills, he went on to become the most successful skipper of Sri Lanka alongside Sanath Jayasuriya. It was during the last days of his Test career that he announced in advance that he would bid farewell to the game post series against South Africa and Pakistan.
He played his last Test against Pakistan and left the purest format of the game on August 18, 2014, in the most respectable and classy manner. Rangana Herath turned out to be the wrecker in chief for the Lankan side as he bagged 14 wickets in the Test and scripted a perfect farewell for the legendary Jayawardene. Talking about the game, the first innings of Lanka saw Upul Tharanga scoring high for them where Junaid Khan got a fifer to his name.
Sri Lanka posted 320 runs on board and in turn saw 332 from the end of visitors which was highlighted by Sarfaraz Ahmed’s terrific century. In the same innings, Herath clinched nine wickets in his favour, leaving the room for no other bowler. When Lanka came up to bat in the 2nd innings, Jayawardene, the man himself lit the show by a crucial fifty from his end and received assistance from Kumar Sangakkara.
Taking down the willows in the final innings, Pakistan just got wrapped up on 165 runs and handed over a big victory to Sri Lanka by 105 runs. Herath picked the remaining five wickets in these innings and completed his 14 wickets that roared the way for Lankans at Colombo. Talking about his grand farewell, his teammates did the perfect job as they bundled Pakistan within an hour on the final day of the game.
There couldn’t have been a better farewell for the legendary batsman to end his career by winning his final series 2-0 in front of his family, friends, fans at his home ground. The firecrackers formed the way as Jayawardene drew curtains on his 17-year sparkling career that gave a lifetime of memories to Sri Lanka cricket.
The extraordinary cricketer went through a range of emotions while he was being carried on shoulders by his teammates around the venue. To make the day more special, the then SL President Mahindra Rajapaksa marked his presence on the matchday to say goodbye to the legend. The celebrations were also joined by the Pakistan team which was led by Waqar Younis.
