Sri Lanka’s former skipper has scored a century each time his side has played India at the SSC. He made a monumental 242 in a drawn game in 1999, 139 in 2001 and 136 in 2008, both Tests that the Lankans won by an innings after amassing 600-plus totals, and capped it off with Tuesday’s 174 in the second Test, the tenth time he has made a century at the SSC.
No one, too, has scored more Test hundreds at one ground. Until Tuesday, Jayawardene had held that record with Sir Don Bradman, who made nine hundreds at the MCG. “He played what, ten Tests at the MCG. That’s Sir Don for you. I needed 23 Tests,” a tired Jayawardene told newsmen. “That caps it off. I am pleased I have the record, but I don’t think we can compare what he achieved with what we are doing right now. He’s a legend.
“It’s a moment for me to remember. I love playing in my home ground. I grew up playing here. You have to be very humble when you break something like Sir Don’s record,” added Jayawardene, who also has 2641 runs here, the most by any batsman at one Test venue. Jayawardene’s 28th century entailed a Sri Lankan record 12th hundred stand with Kumar Sangakkara, who slammed 219. “We complement each other,” added Sangakkara’s deputy. “Being right and left-handed, we get more opportunities, bowlers can’t get into a rhythm. Earlier in our careers, we were a lot defensive. Now we attack and put pressure on the bowlers.”
Harbhajan Singh has taken just one wicket in this series. “Given the bowling unit they have, Harbhajan is the most experienced and the most dangerous. We knew that if we controlled him, we could be more consistent with our batting. He created enough opportunities and bowled his heart out. He needed a bit of luck as well”.
Despite the tall scores at the SSC, only four of the last 17 Tests here have ended in a stalemate. Jayawardene bristled at suggestions that this surface was too batsman-friendly. “What kind of surface do you want, where matches finish in two or three days?” he asked. “Overseas, we have come across some wickets where we weren’t able to lay a bat on the ball. That’s still a challenge. These are challenges and you shouldn’t complain. Today, we scored 400-plus runs, which is something special.”