It was AN honour representing country for seventeen years, says Mahela Jayawardene

Test cricket can bid farewell to at least one of its most elegant strokemakers once Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene equal the longer format once the second take a look at against Asian nation, beginning in Colombo on Th.
The elegant right-hander retired from Twenty20 internationals once Sri Lanka’s title-winning campaign within the World T20 in April, however still hopes to contend in next year’s one-day tourney Down underneath.
An average of fifty.02 over 148 Tests with thirty four centuries illustrates his hunger for runs through a 17-year-career.
He scored a monumental 374 throughout a record partnership of 624 with Sangakkara (287) against a South African attack that enclosed vale Steyn and Makhya Ntini on his environment at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo in 2006.
He got a style of massive scores on his take a look at debut itself as a twenty year recent in 1997, once country assembled a record total of 952 half dozen declared against Bharat at the Premadasa sports stadium in Colombo.
Jayawardene’s farewell take a look at was originally regular to be contend at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo before thoughtful officers accepted a call for participation to maneuver it to the SSC.

Last month, against Hashim Amla’s South African team, Jayawardene showed his skills had not diminished as he all over again revelled within the serene surroundings of the SSC to create a fluent a hundred sixty five.
It has been an excellent privilege and honour representing my country throughout the past seventeen years, he said.
Few cricketers have exemplified the spirit of the sport higher than the refined thirty seven year recent, even if his pleasant manner hides nerves of steel, a conniving street-smart mind and a zealous drive for perfection.
Jayawardene is one amongst solely 5 batsmen to get over eleven,000 runs in each take a look at and in some unspecified time in the future cricket  the others being Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and team mate Kumar Sangakkara.
Although his kind outside Asia has been inconsistent, he has set a deluge of records reception.
Jayawardene looked set to surpass Brian Lara’s record of four hundred once he was bowled against the run of play. Ever the team mate, he most popular to rejoice in his team’s immense win by AN innings and 153 runs.
Slated to bat at range six, the young Jayawardene saw Sanath Jayasuriya build 340, supported by Roshan Mahanama 225, before himself grading sixty six.
He bid farewell to a different happy searching ground in Galle on Sunday by creating fifty nine within the initial innings, ANd twenty six within the unknown role of an opener within the second as country beat weakening light-weight and approaching rain to chase down a target of ninety nine with four.2 overs to spare against Asian nation.