They have been seeing each other as opponents for years. The IPL brought them to a common platform from where they can fight it out on the pitch as a unit. Both as opponents on the pitch and now as dream opening partners, Jayasuriya and Tendulkar have come to know lots of things about each other. And on what he has learnt about this immensely talented player of international cricket, Jayasuriya described his IPL partner as the perfect brand ambassador of classical cricket. “When you talk about the gentleman’s game, he’s the perfect brand ambassador. Sachin is one of the calmest players in the game. He is so grounded, coolheaded and immensely talented,” says the Matara marauder.

One of the fiercest batsman of international cricket, who represented his country in110 Tests and 432 ODIs and whose claim to fame is his collections of attacking stroke plays, Jayasuriya, thinks that when it comes to the technicalities of cricket, no other cricketer can beat the little master from Mumbai. Himself an immensely talented all- rounder, who has got a huge cricket score of over 12,000 runs and over 300 wickets in one-day internationals, can not find words to describe what Sachin is like with the bat in hand. “I don’t have words to do that. He’s the master, technically the best. His hunger for runs, the hunger for success, is unmatched,” said Jayasuriya.

However, it is not about the cricketing skills only that make Sachin so special in the eyes of Jayasuriya. It is the little master’s attitude towards the game, that former Sri Lankan captain finds particularly admirable. “His approach to batting is simple and yet so dominating. Over the years, I’ve seen Tendulkar improvise, learn, adjust, dominate... just about everything. And he’s gone about doing it so quietly. He has always wanted to be the best; his hunger, the appetite can be very unnerving if you’re playing against him.”

Now that they are in the same squad for Indian Premier League’s Mumbai team, they have been planning together a lot to make it a success of their IPL partnership. When asked about whether they have made any exclusive plan to crack it in IPL, he echoed the same account given by Sachin that while Sanath will be giving good chase to the bowlers, it will be Sachin who will play anchor role.

“We decided that I’d go after the bowlers while he’d play the anchor role. We want one of us to stay out there for close to 15 overs and if we can do that then either one of us have the ability to change the face of the game. If you see the Cape Town match, we didn’t panic. Sachin was there and he went on. That gives the team the option of any of the guys walking out and playing around us. If either I or Sachin stays around, someone like Abhishek (Nayyar) can come and play a few big shots towards the end. It helps immensely,” the veteran reveals his and his partner’ game plan for the upcoming IPL cricket matches.

It is to be seen how Mumbai team gains from this explosive opening combo in the current season!

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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