Player of the Month
Player of the Month
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Highlights of Jayasuriya's month:
151 not out against India, May 17 96 in 67 balls against Pakistan, first final, May 24 55 in 40 balls against Pakistan, second final, May 27 Related items on CricInfo: CricInfo's player profile of Sanath Jayasuriya Elmo Rodrigopulle's report on Jayasuriya's innings - Daily News, May 20 Related Player of the Month pages: Who missed out? The good, the bad and the ugly of May. |
Over the past eighteen months the international game of
one-day cricket has experienced considerable evolution. A popular World Cup
competition on the sub-continent, an unexpected victory to Sri Lanka, and a
new aggressive approach to batting in the first fifteen overs.
The tactic that was a central feature of Sri Lanka's World Cup victory was
to be imitated, to varying degrees of success by other countries. One person
was the key player in this resurgence.
Many thought that this player's performances in the 1996 World Cup were merely a flash in the pan, however he carried on to make devastating advantage of the small Padang ground at Singapore against the Pakistani attack. He has been present throughout Sri Lanka's tournament victories in Colombo and Sharjah, and in this month of May 1997 he showed at India's Independence Cup that he is still arguably the most dangerous opening batsman in the limited-over game. A first-ball duck against Pakistan at Gwalior did not foreshadow what was to come against India at Wankhede Stadium on May 17. His team chasing India's 225, he scored two-thirds of the target from his own bat - his 151 not out (from 120 balls, 17 fours, 4 sixes) the highest score by a Sri Lankan in their 22-year limited-over international history. There were still nine overs to spare when he brought victory... one can only speculate on whether, given the opportunity to face fifty overs that night, he would have broken Viv Richards' world record (which Saeed Anwar was to do four days later), or maybe even achieve the first ODI double hundred. He deserves both, and one senses his time is yet to come. In the best-of-three final against Pakistan, no golden duck disappointments this time - 96 from 67 balls and 55 from 40 balls launched Sri Lanka to 300+ innings in each game, and a clean sweep of the cup final. Our player of the month was voted the man of the series. Although thought of mainly as a one-day slogger, there are signs that he is molding his style to the demands of opening the Test match innings. His two fine innings on his Test recall at Adelaide Oval in January 1996, and his 72 and 113 in his most recent Test appearance at the Sinhalese Sports Club, indicate that he has a bright future despite already having achieved so much. The googler's Player of the Month for May 1997 is Sri Lanka's Sanath Teran Jayasuriya. |
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Date-stamped : 13 Apr1998 - 18:39