Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene - The awesome twosome bid adieu to home crowd
A fairytale ending for the dashing duo of Srilanka, Jayawardene and Sangakkara :as both of them are involved in a wicket in their final ODI on home ground. The past couple of weeks, cricketing news has revolved much around the teams of India and Australia, but 16th December 2014 belongs to the 2 greats from the island country.
Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have been the flag bearers and the custodians of Sri Lankan cricket for many years. They dedicated their soul and spirit to the game and ensured Sri Lankana cricket moved forward in leaps and bounds during their stay.
What they have with each other is much more than being just teammates. They have a solid friendship, are co-owners of a restaurant called the Ministry of Crab, great ambassadors of the game, phenomenal skills and an aura and personality like none other. They have covered the journey from rookies to legends alongside each other.
The partnerships, camaraderie, understanding, support makes for what can be termed as a beautiful bromance. As a pair, the most outstanding performance came against the Proteas, a partnership of 624 runs between them for the 3rd wicket.
As their played their last limited overs game at home, Mahela Jayawardene admits he may become a little emotional. "The best memories of playing at home for me will be the fans - the music, the rhythm and all that," Jayawardene said. "I grew up playing with that for my school. We've always had it when we played the big matches. To finish it off with that same rhythm - you can't ask for anything else. That's the uniqueness about Sri Lankan cricket. That is the flair that we grew up playing with.
The humble man that he is, he has not forgotten to thank the fans and his nascent cricketing days which laid the foundation of an extraordinary career. The man has played some fine innings for his nation and has achieved all the greatness a cricketer can hope to achieve.
With numerous awards and accolades he also became the first Sri Lankan to score 10,000 Test runs. He has single handedly, taken his team over the boundary on various occasions. An in form Jayawardene can be a nightmare for any bowling opposition. His channeled aggression, variety of strokes, finesse in play and cricketing intelligence has made him one of Sri Lanka’s all time greats.
Kumar Sangakkara on the other hand was a law student and he had no thoughts of playing professionally until the age of 20. Having played and excelled at the domestic and under-19 and under-15 stage, made it impossible for the selectors to ignore him. Thanks to his brilliant wicket keeping and batting skills, Sri Lankan team got a superb left-hander in their ranks in the year 1998-99.
Since then, the man has not looked back. An extremely fine gentleman, when Sangakkara swings his bat and times the ball, the ball stays hit. He is a treat to watch when in full flow and 2014 is turning out to be an extraordinary year for him. He has amassed as many as 1431 runs in tests and 1256 runs in ODI’s in this year. He is in his prime at 37, when many others hang up their boots.
As a wicketkeeper and captain too, he has been great for the Lankans. His presence has always added solidarity and comfort. He too like Mahela has numerous recognitions.
Together both these stalwarts have made tremendous contributions, not just to Sri Lnaka but to the game of cricket.
Under their leadership, they have moulded and inspired a lot of young cricketers to play the game in the correct fashion. Role models for millions, these guys have had a magnetic influence on youngsters and fans. Records created by them will probably be surpassed some day, but their imprints on the cricketing world are here to stay.
The crowds and fans will miss seeing their heroes on the home turf, but the end is nowhere near now.