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'Looked like they gave up a bit'

Naimul Karim
Until yesterday, it did not seem as though Mahela Jayawardene would go on to score his 33rd Test hundred, let alone a double-century. In his initial moments at the crease on Monday, he seemed to be struggling against Shakib Al Hasan's leftarm spin and survived two close calls, one ofwhich included a missed stumping.
However, the class batsman that he is, Mahela stuck it out in those initial moments and went on to maximise his innings. The innings in a way perfectly explained why this man has been dominating Sri Lanka's batting for the last 20 years.
Admitting that there were a few pressure situations during his innings, the Sri Lankan stated that he made most of his moves when the hosts seemed vulnerable.
"There was pressure put on us, especially yesterday in the afternoon session and today morning. We just needed to make sure that we don't make mistakes and once we got through those initial periods, yeah it looked like they gave up a bit, so it became a bit easier," said Jayawardene at the post-day press conference.
The 36-year-old was also surprised at the hosts' let-off towards the end of the day yesterday.
"I think this is what Test cricket is all about. We tried to take control of the situation and obviously they let us get away. Going forward they need to probably hang in there a bit more, fight it out and see whether they can create more opportunities," said Jayawardene.
This was the fifth time Jayawardene
crossed the three-figure mark against Bangladesh and it took his average to an outstanding 81.76 against the Tigers. The sheer dominance however, did not mean Mahela always longed to play against the Tigers.
"I am pretty sure I have the same number of hundreds against England as well and South Africa, so you can't say that It's not fair on Bangladesh. It's just about how you go about and get your opportunities. Just take it as itis," said the batsman.
Despite having attained a mammoth lead of498, the Sri Lankan believes that the game is far from being over.
"Cricket is a funny game and I have played enough games to realise that it (wins) doesn't happen that easily. We got two days. So I hope that's enough time.
"The pitch is playing very decent But there's a bit of rough now created, so there's a bit of turn. We just need to make sure that we bowl the balls in the right areas
as many times as possible and wait for those opportunities to come our way and create that pressure, ” said Jayawardene.
With that double century, the Sri Lankan became the sixth-highest runscorer in Test cricket, surpassing Allan Border and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. He is also now on par with his colleague Kumar Sangakkara for the most number ofcenturiesbyaSri Lankan - 33.
When asked as to who, among the two of them, he thought would end up scoring more centuries before retirement, the Sri Lankan modestly deferred to his colleague and good friend.
"It's a healthy competition. If you see the number of matches, Kumar is way below me. So definitely he has got the upper hand. He has set a tremendous standard for the rest of the guys to follow. I am sure he will get one over me, hopefully in the next Test," said Jayawardene with a smile.