Mahela Jayawardene

Mahela Jayawardene
Jayawardene playing for Sri Lanka in 2014
Personal information
Full name
Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene
Born (1977-05-27) 27 May 1977 (age 47)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
NicknameMaiya, Master Mind
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
RoleBatsman
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 69)2 August 1997 v India
Last Test14 August 2014 v Pakistan
ODI debut (cap 92)24 January 1998 v Zimbabwe
Last ODI18 March 2015 v South Africa
ODI shirt no.27
T20I debut (cap 5)15 June 2006 v England
Last T20I6 April 2014 v India
T20I shirt no.27
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1996/97–2014/15Sinhalese Sports Club
2007/08–2012Wayamba Elevens
2008–2010Kings XI Punjab (squad no. 27)
2011Kochi Tuskers Kerala (squad no. 27)
2012–2013Delhi Daredevils (squad no. 27)
2013Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel
2015Sussex
2015Jamaica Tallawahs
2015/16–2016/17Central Districts
2015/16Adelaide Strikers
2016Somerset
2016/17Dhaka Dynamites
2017Karachi Kings
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 149 448 237 546
Runs scored 11,814 12,650 17,838 15,421
Batting average 49.84 33.37 49.68 33.67
100s/50s 34/50 19/77 51/80 21/95
Top score 374 144 374 163*
Balls bowled 589 593 3,001 1,280
Wickets 6 8 52 24
Bowling average 51.66 70.37 31.32 47.75
5 wickets in innings 0 0 1 0
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0
Best bowling 2/32 2/56 5/72 3/25
Catches/stumpings 205/– 218/– 305/– 265/–
Medal record
Men's Cricket
Representing  Sri Lanka
ICC Cricket World Cup
Runner-up 2007 West Indies
Runner-up 2011 India–Bangladesh–Sri Lanka
ICC T20 World Cup
Winner 2014 Bangladesh
Runner-up 2009 England
Runner-up 2012 Sri Lanka
ICC Champions Trophy
Winner 2002 Sri Lanka
Asia Cup
Winner 2014 Asia Cup
Winner 2008 Asia Cup
Winner 2004 Asia Cup
Runner-up 2010 Asia Cup
Runner-up 2000 Asia Cup
Asian Test Championship
Winner 2001–2002
Mumbai Indians (as coach)
Indian Premier League
Winner 2017 Indian Premier League
Winner 2019 Indian Premier League
Winner 2020 Indian Premier League
Southern Brave (as coach)
The Hundred (cricket)
Winner 2021 season of The Hundred
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 17 August 2016

Denagamage Praboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene (Sinhala: දෙනගමගේ ප්‍රබෝත් මහේල ද සිල්වා ජයවර්ධන; born 27 May 1977) is a Sri Lankan former professional cricketer and captain of the Sri Lankan national cricket team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen from Sri Lankan cricket.[1][2]

During the time of his captaincy Jayawardene led his national team to be the winners of the 2008 Asia Cup. Jayawardene was the first Sri Lankan in the history of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup to score a century which he did with his 100 runs against Zimbabwe in the 2010 tournament.

He made his Test cricket debut in August 1997 and his One Day International (ODI) debut the following season in January 1998. In 2006 along with his teammate Kumar Sangakkara, Jayawardene made the highest ever partnership in First-class cricket, scoring 624 runs for the third wicket in the first test match of Sri Lanka's home series against South Africa.[3] He appeared in 652 international matches representing Sri Lanka in a career spanning for about 18 years. During his international career, he also formed a friendship and healthy rivalry with Sangakkara.[4][5]

Mahela is the first player in the history of Sri Lankan cricket to score over 10,000 Test runs and is also the second Sri Lankan player to score more than 10,000 runs in ODIs after Sanath Jayasuriya. Mahela Jayawardene currently serves as the Chairman of Sri Lanka National Sports Council.[6][7][8][9]

Jayawardene's highest test score, 374 against South Africa, is the highest score by a right-handed batsman in the history of Test cricket.[10][11] Along with teammate Sangakkara, he has the most career partnership runs for the 3rd wicket in Tests, scoring 5890 runs surpassing the 5826 run record of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar.

Jayawardene was a key member of the team that won the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 and was part of the team that made to the final of 2007 Cricket World Cup, 2011 Cricket World Cup, 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and 2012 ICC World Twenty20.

In 2006, Jayawardene was named by the International Cricket Council as the best International captain of the year and was nominated in 2007 as the best Test cricket player of the year. He is also known for his fielding skills in the inner ring, with a report prepared by ESPNcricinfo in late 2005 showing that since the 1999 Cricket World Cup, he had effected the most run-outs in ODI cricket of any fielder, with the fifth highest run-out/match ratio in ODI's.[12]

Jayawardene also worked as an international TV commentator in the first test at Headingley on 19 May 2016 between England and Sri Lanka.[13][14] Mahela Jayawardene holds the unique record of being the only player as of now to have scored a hundred in both a World Cup final and a World Cup semi-final. He is also the only player to have scored a century in a World Cup final in a losing cause.[15]

He also serves as a board member in several unlisted public limited companies in Sri Lanka. He has been a vocal critic of Sri Lanka Cricket over the years especially after 2015 where the national side has suffered a significant decline.[16]

In November 2021, he was inducted to the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.[17] He became only the third Sri Lankan to be inducted to the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame after Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara.[18]

  1. ^ Pinshaw, Antony. "Why retiring Sri Lanka batsman Mahela Jayawardene is a modern cricketing marvel". Fox Sports Australia. No. 14 August 2014. Fox Sports Australia. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  2. ^ Collins, Tim. "Mahela Jayawardene in Numbers: Breaking Down the Career of Sri Lanka's Legend". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  3. ^ "This day that year: Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara share record stand". The Indian Express. 29 July 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  4. ^ "It takes two to tango". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  5. ^ "'Kumar and Mahela were driven by healthy rivalry' - Moody". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Mahela chairs 14-member National Sports Council". www.adaderana.lk. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Mahela Jayawardene has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Sports Council". Hiru News. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Mahela to head up National Sports Council. Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Sri Lanka : Mahela Jayawardene appointed as the Chairman of the National Sports Council". www.colombopage.com. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Yet another SSC hundred for Jayawardene". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  11. ^ Tracking the misses Archived 13 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Charles Davies, thecricketmonthly.com
  12. ^ Basevi, Travis (8 November 2005). "Statistics – Run outs in ODIs". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 19 March 2007. Retrieved 5 February 2007.
  13. ^ Berry, Scyld (18 May 2016). "Mahela Jayawardene urges Sri Lanka to compete ahead of England series". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  14. ^ "Mahela Jayawardene to start his Cricket Commentary career". The Papare. 20 April 2016. Archived from the original on 24 May 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  15. ^ Agha, Wasiq (2 April 2021). ""Not going to wish that to happen to anyone else" - Mahela Jayawardene on hitting World Cup final century in losing cause". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  16. ^ Acharya, Shayan (4 April 2019). "Mahela Jayawardene: Inconsistent team selection hurting Sri Lankan cricket". Sportstar. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  17. ^ "Janette Brittin, Mahela Jayawardene and Shaun Pollock inducted into ICC Hall of Fame". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 13 November 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Mahela Jayawardene, Shaun Pollock to be inducted into ICC Hall of Fame". The Indian Express. 13 November 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.