Sizzling Jayasuriya pounds Chennai

Mumbai, May 15:

Sachin Tendulkar’s return dominated most of the pre-match buzz but it was the eruption from Sanath Jayasuriya that Mumbai toasted at the end of a nine-wicket win in the Indian Premier League.

Chennai appeared to have cobbled together a fighting total, but Jayasuriya’s sizzler, the second-fastest IPL hundred that was punctuated with 11 sixes and nine fours, put an emphatic end to the contest. Mumbai’s bowlers set-up this win with a fine new-ball exhibition that knocked off the top order. Shaun Pollock’s spell (4-1-9-1) led an impressive effort. Mahendra Dhoni and S Badrinath stitched together a 95-run stand but 156 was never going to be challenging if even one batsman got going.

It was an innings reminiscent of the mid-90s, a time when Jayasuriya filled bowlers with a sense of fear. In fact it was at the same ground where he hammered 151 not out in the Independence Cup in 1997.