Colombo: An emotional Mahela Jayawardene ended his glittering, 17-year Test career on a high Monday as Sri Lanka won the second and final Test against Pakistan by 105 runs.
Jayawardene yesterday said a &ldquo;gut feeling&rdquo; prompted him to quit Test cricket as he turned his attention to one last World Cup campaign after near-misses in 2007 and 2011.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2014/oct/19mahela.jpg" alt="" /> Teammates Chanaka Welegedara (left) and Dhammika Prasad (right) lift Mahela Jayawardene on their shoulders as the batting great bid adieu to Test cricket yesterday. Pics/AFP
Jayawardene bowed out after Sri Lanka sealed a 2-0 Test series win over Pakistan. &ldquo;Players come and go, but the game continues,&rdquo; the 37-year-old said, after ending a 17-year Test career in which he became one of the great batsmen of modern times.
Fitting farewell Jayawardene was hoisted onto his teammates&rsquo; shoulders and warmly congratulated by Sri Lanka&rsquo;s president after ending his Test career at Colombo&rsquo;s Sinhalese Sports Club Stadium. Pakistan, who resumed their second innings at 127-7 chasing a target of 271, were shot out for 165 before lunch on the fifth day.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Jayawardene, who will continue to play one-day international cricket until after next year&rsquo;s World Cup, said: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what to say, but I promise I won&rsquo;t cry.
&ldquo;I love you all. Thank you so much for the support all these years.
&ldquo;I still have a little bit left and I promise I&rsquo;ll give it my all for the World Cup.
&ldquo;Thanks also to my teammates. It&rsquo;s been great to play for Sri Lanka for so many years. I have always worn this cap with pride and passion.&rdquo; Jayawardene added that he felt he had quit at the right time despite still showing good form with the bat. &ldquo;I took the decision to retire after a lot of serious thought.
&lsquo;Right time to retire&rsquo; &ldquo;I think the time was right to go. It was a gut feeling and I have always gone by my gut feelings in the past.
&ldquo;We do not have many Tests for a year now. I have played enough and it is time for the younger players to take over.
&ldquo;I have very pleasant memories of my career. I enjoyed this phase of my life, I learnt a lot and good things entered my life. I cherish every moment of it,&rdquo; he said.
Jayawardene finished with 11,814 runs in 149 Tests with 34 centuries. Jayawardene said retiring one Test short of his 150th appearance did not matter to him.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2014/oct/19mahelakid.jpg" alt="" /> Mahela Jayawardene with his wife Christina Sirisena and daughter Sansana at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo yesterday
Mahela factfile &gt;&gt; Mahela Jayawardene captained Sri Lanka in 38 Tests, winning 18, losing 12 with 8 drawn.
&gt;&gt; Jayawardene is one of only five batsmen &mdash; the others being Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Kumar Sangakkara &mdash; to score more than 11,000 runs in both Test and one-day cricket.
&gt;&gt; Jayawardene and Sangakkara hold the record for the highest partnership in Test cricket &mdash; 624 for the third wicket against South Africa in Colombo in 2006. Jayawardene scored 374 and Sangakkara made 287.
&gt;&gt; His 205 Test catches are second only to Indian Rahul Dravid&rsquo;s tally of 210 by a fielder other than a wicketkeeper.
&gt;&gt; His 2,921 runs in 27 Tests at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo are the most by any batsman at a single ground. He averaged 74.89 at the ground with 11 centuries.
Jayawardene in tests...
Matches Runs Highest&nbsp;Average 100s 50s &nbsp; &nbsp;149 &nbsp; 11814 &nbsp; 374 &nbsp; &nbsp;49.84 &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;34 &nbsp; 50

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Players come and go, but the game continues: Mahela Jayawardene

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