With one shot, Jayasuriya laid waste to plans India had spent all night making

Sanath Jayasuriya started his international career as a 20-year old, coming out to bat at number five. For the next few years in ODI cricket, he continued to bat in the lower middle order. Jayasuriya even batted at low as number eight in ODIs. Back then, he was considered more of a bowler who could bat a bit. It's hard to imagine now.

But a decision from the then Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga not only changed Jayasuria's life forever but also changed the dynamics of ODI cricket. Ranatunga promoted Jayasuriya to open the innings, a move that's still considered one of the finest in cricket. Half-a-decade after he made his international debut, Jayasuriya the cricketer was reborn.

There was no looking back for Jayasuriya since then. His bat turned into a magic wand. As a bowler, he was a wily customer. 

Incidentally, Jayasuriya and Ranatunga contested in Sri Lanka's general elections in the same year, but from opposite parties. Both of them went on to enter the national parliament though.

One of the highlights of Jayasuriya's career was the epic triple century in Colombo against India in 1997. India, led by Sachin Tendulkar, knew how dangerous a player Jayasuriya was and their plans centred around him. 

India, after posting a mammoth 537 for eight, declared the innings. The visitors were off to the best possible start as Nilesh Kulkarni became the first Indian bowler to take a wicket off his very first ball in Test cricket. India were 498 runs ahead at stumps on day two. 

The next day Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama hammered the Indian bowlers all around the park. The bowlers toiled hard throughout the day but couldn't eke out a single wicket. Jayasuriya was the more aggressive of the two, remaining unbeaten on 175 at the end of day three.

The Indians were tired. But they had to find a way to stop Jayasuriya. Back in those days, the security was very tight in Colombo. The Indian team occupied one whole floor at the Taj Samudra hotel. They decided to try something new to outdo Jayasuriya. The meeting was led by Sachin Tendulkar and the security officers made sure no one entered the passage. 

The Indians analysed Jayasuria's strong and weak zones and the idea was to block his run-scoring areas to make him impatient. They charted the possible catching areas. The bowlers decided to make a slight adjustment to their lengths. Venkatesh Prasad, the leader of the line-up, was entrusted with the responsibility. 

The plan was very comprehensive and the Indians were confident that they could get the better of Jayasuriya. Sourav Ganguly, in his autobiography 'A Century is not Enough', recollected, "Finally our days of toiling hard under the hot Sri Lankan sun might come to an end!"

The next morning Venkatesh Prasad ran in and bowled to Jayasuriya as planned. The ball pitched on a good length outside off-stump. Jayasuriya flicked it over the square leg boundary onto the stands. It was a ridiculously amazing shot and the fielders literally started laughing. "I have never seen so much helplessness on the cricket field," wrote Ganguly. All their hopes were nipped in the bud in no time.

India had to wait for 1103 balls for the next wicket. Jayasuriya and Mahanama put on 576, the highest partnership in Test cricket for any wicket at that time. They also became the first batting pair to bat throughout two uninterrupted days in Tests. Jayasuriya made 340.

Jayasuriya scored 13430 runs in ODI cricket in a 22-year long career. He had an outstanding strike rate of 91.2. Only Virender Sehwag, Adam Gilchrist and Shahid Afridi had more strike rates among openers during these 22 years. But none of them had scored 10,000 runs while Jayasuriya notched up more than 12,000 as an opener. He scored almost seven thousand runs in Tests as well at an average of 40.

Jayasuriya was one of the most prolific all-rounders of his era and is the only cricketer in ODIs to score over 10,000 runs and bag more than 300 wickets in ODIs. 

Desabandu Sanath Teran Jayasuriya, the Matara Mauler, was born on this day in 1969.