Mahela lifts Sagittarius Strikers to big win over Libra Legends

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Mahela lifts Sagittarius Strikers to big win over Libra Legends
Mahela Jayawardene from Sagittarius Strikers playing a shot during the MCL match between Sagittarius Strikers vs Libra Legends at Sharjah cricket stadium on Thursday.

Sharjah - The 38-year-old, who is still the highest run scorer for his country in T20 internationals, was quick to stand by his decision of retiring from the game.

By Clareto Monsorate

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Published: Thu 4 Feb 2016, 6:23 PM

Last updated: Thu 4 Feb 2016, 8:35 PM

It's been a while since Mahela Jayawardene retired from 'active' cricket but whenever this former Sri Lankan captain holds the willow in his hand he continues to enthral one and all. The master tactician was at his best yet again but unfortunately for him, his century -- the first of the Oxigen Masters Champions League -- was witnessed by a sparse crowd at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
However, that did not deter him from crafting a sublime 124 from a mere 60 balls to guide Sagittarius Strikers to a 63-run win over Libra Legends.

Brief scores: Sagittarius Strikers 227 for 3 in 20 overs (Mahela Jayawardene 124, Adam Gilchrist 38, Michael Carberry 23 n.o.) Libra Legends --- (Sean Ervine 55, Jacques Kallis 25, Tim Ambrose 24 n.o.; Shane Bond 2/11, Daniel Vettori 2/32).
Man of the match: Mahela Jayawardene.
Jayawardene's nine sixes and 10 boundaries were scored so effortlessly that it made one wonder whether he could still make the Sri Lankan team, which is currently going through a rebuilding phase.
The 38-year-old, who is still the highest run scorer for his country in T20 internationals, was quick to stand by his decision of retiring from the game.Speaking to the media after the match, Jayawardene said: "When we (Kumar Sangakkara and me) made the decision a couple of years ago to retire we knew the time was right for us to take a back seat and give it to the next generation to take over.
"We don't want to tax our bodies too much. I'm still having fun playing part-time cricket," was his candid reply.
Coming back to the match, the former batting great of modern cricket, overshadowed his more illustrious opening partner Adam Gilchrist, by taking the Libra Legends' attack to the cleaners.
Knowing that running singles and twos would take a toll on his body, Jayawardene went hell for leather and in Gilchrist's company the duo raised 102 runs.
It was a one-man show by Jayawardene as he bludgeoned the Legends bowlers to all corners and propel Sagittarius to a formidable 227 for 3.
A tired-looking Libra Legends tried in vain to make a match of it. There was a ray of hope when Sean Ervine hit Yasir Arafat for 20 runs in an over and reached his 50 in 19 balls but he lacked support from the other end and Libra Legends were restricted to 164 for 7.With two wins and a loss, the Strikers are in the hunt for a semi-final spot but the Legends could miss the last four slot as they are yet to open their account after suffering their third straight defeat.
Captain Jacques Kallis put the defeat down to Jayawardene's gem of a knock.
"He made it difficult for us to chase down that total. You have to take your hat off to such a knock. When your chasing 230 plus it's difficult to score at over 12 runs an over. Also a few dropped catches cost us," said a disappointed Kallis.
clareto@khaleejtimes.com


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