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  • 6/23/2025
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Before Rohit Sharma’s explosive starts... before Virender Sehwag’s fearless hitting, before Brendon McCullum’s step-out sixes, there was one man who showed the world how to truly dominate the powerplay — Sri Lanka’s very own Sanath Jayasuriya!
Sanath Jayasuriya — the name that sent chills down the spines of bowlers in the 1990s and early 2000s. The man who redefined the art of opening the innings in One Day Internationals.
Born on June 30, 1969, in Matara, Sri Lanka, Jayasuriya was the face of Sri Lankan cricket’s rise on the world stage.
Jayasuriya made his international debut in 1989, but his game-changing moment came much later, during the 1996 Cricket World Cup. Originally a middle-order batsman, Jayasuriya was promoted to opener by Arjuna Ranatunga in the 1996 World Cup, a decision that would change cricket history. Until the 1996 World Cup, openers were expected to be cautious, taking time to build an innings. The idea of smashing bowlers in the first 10 overs? Almost unheard of. But Jayasuriya? He tore that playbook apart.
With a brutal combination of fearless hitting, fast footwork and the ability to find gaps, Sanath Jayasuriya, along with Romesh Kaluwitharana, turned the first 15 overs into a nightmare for bowlers.

During the 1996 World Cup, he smashed 221 runs in just 6 innings at a strike rate of 131, an unimaginable number back then. His fearless strokeplay helped Sri Lanka lift their first-ever World Cup trophy, and his approach changed ODI cricket forever.
But Jayasuriya wasn’t just about ODI fireworks. He played 110 Test matches, scoring almost 7,000 runs, including a mammoth 340 against India in Colombo — still one of the highest Test scores of all time.

And don’t forget — he was a genuine all-rounder. His left-arm spin fetched him over 440 international wickets across formats. There were times he’d win matches with the ball when the bat was silent. Add to that his electric fielding and bullet throws — Sanath Jayasuriya was the quintessential modern-day all-rounder.


In an era when T20 cricket didn’t exist, Jayasuriya brought that explosive T20 mindset to ODIs — hitting bowlers out of the park and thrilling millions around the world.

Over a glittering career spanning two decades, Jayasuriya scored more than 13,000 ODI runs — including 28 centuries — and led Sri Lanka to numerous memorable wins.”
“More importantly, his fearless style laid the foundation for a new era of aggressive opening batting. Players like Gilchrist, Sehwag, McCullum, and even today’s stars like Warner and Rohit owe a part of their batting DNA to the path Jayasuriya paved.”

“Some of his staggering records include — the fastest fifty in ODIs at one time, the second-highest individual ODI score of 189 against India, and a player of the tournament award in the ’96 World Cup.
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Transcript
00:00Before Rohit Sharma's explosive starts, before Virender Sehwag's fearless hitting, before
00:04Brendan McCallum's step-out sixes, there was one man who showed the world how to truly
00:10dominate the power play, Sri Lanka's very own Sanat Jai Surya.
00:14Sanat Jai Surya, the name that sent chills down the spines of bowlers in the 1990s and
00:19early 2000s.
00:21The man who redefined the art of opening the innings in one-day internationals.
00:25Born on June 30th, 1969 in Matala, Sri Lanka, Jai Surya was the face of Sri Lankan Cricket's
00:31rise on the world stage.
00:33Jai Surya made his international debut in 1989 but his game-changing moment came much later
00:39during the 1996 Cricket World Cup.
00:42Originally a middle-order batsman, Jai Surya was promoted to opener by Arjuna Ranatunga
00:47in the 1996 World Cup, a decision that would change cricket history.
00:51Under the 1996 World Cup, openers were expected to be cautious, taking time to build an innings.
00:56The idea of smashing the bowlers in the first 10 overs, almost unheard of.
01:00But Jai Surya, he tore that playbook apart.
01:03With a brutal combination of fearless hitting, fast footwork and the ability to find gaps,
01:08Sanat Jai Surya along with Ramesh Kaluvitharna turned the first 15 overs into a nightmare for
01:14bowlers.
01:15During the 1996 World Cup, he smashed 221 runs in just 6 innings at a strike rate of
01:20131, an unimaginable number back then.
01:24His fearless stroke play helped Sri Lanka lift their first ever World Cup trophy and his
01:28approach changed ODI Cricket forever.
01:31But Jai Surya wasn't just about ODI fireworks.
01:34He played 110 Test matches scoring almost 7000 runs, including a mammoth 3-potty against India
01:40in Colombo, still one of the highest Test scores of all time and don't forget, he was a genuine
01:45all-rounder.
01:46His left arm spin fetched him over 440 international rickets across formats.
01:50There were times he'd win matches with the ball when the bat was silent.
01:55Add to that his electric fielding and bullet throws.
01:58Sanat Jai Surya was the quintessential modern day all-rounder.
02:01In an era when T20 cricket didn't exist, Jai Surya brought that explosive T20 mindset
02:06to ODIs hitting bowlers out of the park and thrilling millions around the world.
02:10Over a glittering career spanning two decades, Jai Surya scored more than 13,000 ODI runs
02:15including 28 centuries and led Sri Lanka to numerous memorable wins.
02:20More importantly, his fearless style laid the foundation for a new era of aggressive opening
02:24batting.
02:25Players like Gilchrist, Saewag, McCallum and even today's stars like Warner and Rohit owe
02:30a part of their batting DNA to the path Jai Surya paved.
02:34Some of his staggering records include the fastest 15 ODIs at one time, the second highest
02:39individual ODI score of 189 against India and a Player of Tournament award in the 96
02:44World Cup.
02:45Sanat Jai Surya's legacy isn't just in his runs or wickets, it's in how he chased the
02:50game.
02:51He demonstrated that a small island nation like Sri Lanka could take on the giants and emerge
02:55victorious.
02:56He was a revolutionary, the original power play king whose fearless spirit forever
03:00choose the game will love.
03:03Have a nice day.

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