Flashback: The oldest centurion in Asia Cup history

Reaching the three-figure mark always gives a special feeling to any player in any particular format. It’s a big achievement for any batter managing to hit a century for his side in any series/tournament. In the history of Asia Cup competitions, Sanath Jayasuriya is the oldest cricketer to have struck a hundred.

Jayasuriya achieved the feat against India in the final of the Asia Cup in 2008 in Karachi aged 39y 6d. The destructive left-handed opener slammed a magnificent 125 off 114 which included nine fours and five maximums at a strike-rate of 109.64. To put the icing on the cake, the Lankan Lions defeated the Men in Blue by a big margin of 100 runs to clinch the elusive title.

Jayasuriya goes berserk

India skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to field first at the National Stadium in the summit clash. Kumar Sangakkara, who opened the innings with Jayasuriya, got dismissed cheaply for just four. Wickets kept falling but the renowned player held the other end. The middle-order also failed miserably as Mahela Jayawardene, Chamara Kapugedara, and Chamara Silva scored only 11, five, and zero respectively.

Tilakaratne Dilshan struck 56 off 74 while Nuwan Kulasekara amassed 29 as Sri Lanka posted 273 on the board in 49.5 overs. Spinner Ajantha Mendis then wreaked havoc with his devastating spell of 6/13 in eight overs as team India got bundled out for 173 in 39.3 overs.

It turned out to be Jayasuriya’s last match in Asia Cups and it was a memorable one. The next oldest centurion in the list is former Indian Sachin Tendulkar. The Master Blaster reached the three-figure mark against Bangladesh in Mirpur four years later in 2012, aged 38y 327d.