Jayasuriya hails 25th ton as 'one his lifetime best'

Georgetown, Guyana, Apr 2 (UNI) Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya has termed his 115-run innings against West Indies 'as one of his best hundreds', as it helped his team recover from early difficulty to pile up a score of 303 for five wickets in their crucial Super Eight match against the host.

Jayasuriya, 37, scored his 25th one-day century from just 101 balls after his side lost the toss and were put into bat on a slow wicket in overcast conditions at the Providence Stadium here.

''That was one of the best knocks I've played because it was not a very easy wicket to bat on and also we didn't want to lose any wickets so we were a little under pressure. I will always cherish this as one of the best innings of my life,'' Jayashuriya told reporters after Sri Lanka's 113-run victory.

The left-hander, who expressed his desire to finish the World Cup ''on a very good note'' before he hangs up his boots, made a mockery of the Caribbean attack on a pitch which was condusive to the bowlers.

''It was a difficult pitch to bat as it was two-paced. Our strategy was to hung up there in the initial stages and then open up at the later stages of the innings,'' Jayasuriya said.

His views were even supported by his skipper Mahela Jayawardene, who scored 82 in the match to put up a match-winning 183 runs stand with the 37-year-old left-hand opener.

'' The idea was to hang on there. The second power play actually transformed the game in our favour as Santh opened up with some outstanding strokes. To be honest I've seen quite a lot of him and I would probably rank this (innings) as one of his top ones'' said Jayawardene.

With the handsome win in pocket, the Lankans are certainly going to Antigua with high spirits to meet a shaky England.

''It would be a tough game and we are in positive frame of mind to win that also. At the moment everybody in the team are playing well and we expect to win the match if the trend continues,'' a positive Lankan skipper said.

Apart from his blistering century, Jayasuriya also picked up three wickets by conceiving only 38 runs in his spell and earned the man of the match award.

''Sanath after blasting the century also picked up three wickets to push his overall tally to 293. Perhaps he would like to touch the three hundred figure by the end of this World Cup. It may be possible and I would love to see that happen, Jayawardene said.

UNI