KARACHI, July 6: Sanath Jayasuriya blasted a hurricane century to lift the struggling Sri Lankans against India in a fluctuating first period of play at the ninth Asia Cup final here at the National Stadium on Sunday.

Jayasuriya flayed 125 off just 114 deliveries in a stunning counter-attack as Sri Lanka reached a competitive 273 all out after Ishant Sharma had sliced through the top-order batting to leave the defending champions reeling at 66 for four.

The former Sri Lankan captain entertained an appreciable turnout, numbering around 15,000, by unleashing five sixes and nine fours in an exhilarating knock. Together with Tillekeratne Dilshan, who made an equally invaluable contribution of 56, Jayasuriya dominated a much-needed partnership of 131 in 141 deliveries before he was fifth out at 197 in the 36th over, pulling Virender Sehwag to deep midwicket where the gangling figure of Ishant Sharma made no mistake.

India, having decided to include Robin Uthappa as the seventh specialist batsman in place of pace bowler Praveen Kumar in the only change from the side that defeated Sri Lanka in the Super Four round, preferred the run-chase option once Mahendra Singh Dhoni called correctly at the toss.

Dhoni’s decision paid off handsomely when Ishant Sharma, the long-haired teenaged fast bowler, grabbed three wickets in 17 deliveries after Kumar Sangakkara was gone in the second over, tragically run out for four.

Sangakkara had rushed halfway down the pitch from the non-striker end, when Jayasuriya had played with soft hands in the short cover region, but found himself stranded by Suresh Raina’s under-armed direct hit.

Mahela Jayawardene went for 11 in the eighth over after slicing a catch to Rohit Sharma at point before Ishant Sharma dealt two further body blows in his sixth over. Chamara Kapugedera (5) lobbed an easy catch to Raina at cover off a leading edge as he tried to play on the onside. Chamara Silva followed two balls later for a duck when played onto his off-stump.

With Sri Lanka now reeling at 66-4 in 12 overs, India had firmly put themselves in sight of their fifth Asia Cup title with their mind on an unpretentious chase for the target.

But the evergreen Jayasuriya, unperturbed by Sri Lanka’s precarious situation, was not going to be cowed down as he blazed in his typical fashion to put India on the defensive with an array of superlative strokes. After bringing up his 50 in 43 balls with a six over backward square-leg off Sharma, the 39-year-old left-hander — who escaped on 56 being caught off a miscued stroke at mid-on by R.P. Singh off Irfan Pathan — devastatingly disfigured R.P. Singh’s otherwise respectable first spell (5-1-24-0) by savaging him for 6, 6, 4, 4, 0 and 6 in one over when the left-arm seamer came on from the University Road End.

Dilshan, playing second fiddle, watched in awe as Jayasuriya posted his 27th hundred — sixth against India in 74 one-dayers — in his 416th One-day International when he turned Virender Sehwag towards square leg for a single in the 24th over out of a total of 150. Until that point, Jayasuriya had faced 79 balls with the second 50 taking 36 deliveries. But he didn’t manage a boundary after getting to the three-figure mark.

To their great credit, India stormed back into the game chiefly through Pragyan Ojha, the impressive 21-year-old slow left-armer. Bowling to an impeccable line and length, Ojha never allowed the batsmen to go on the attack as his 10 overs went for just 38 runs. Moreover, the Hyderabad spinner didn’t concede a single boundary. In fact, Sri Lanka’s innings completely lost its momentum as no boundary were scored for 22.1 overs after Dilshan had creamed Pathan for three consecutive fours in the 19th over.Sehwag and fellow part-time off-spinner Rohit Sharma also didn’t give away much either, their 11 overs went for only 41 runs.

A shell-shocked R.P. Singh made good recovery from the Jayasuriya mauling as he took three wickets at the death. Irfan Pathan chipped in with two, but overall, it was another lacklustre effort at the bowling crease from the left-handed all-rounder. But importantly for India, Pathan dismissed Dilshan (74 balls, three fours).

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