Openers Jayasuriya, Sehwag in explosive duel

DAMBULLA (Sri Lanka)� - Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene are looking forward to an explosive start to their one-day international series starting here Monday.
Sri Lanka’s left-handed opener Sanath Jayasuriya may be 39, but remains a bowler’s nightmare with his ability to change the course of a match with devastating strokeplay.
India will not easily forget their last encounter with the Sri Lankan, who hammered a quickfire century under pressure to set up his team’s victory in the Asia Cup final in Karachi last month.
India’s Virender Sehwag is an opener in form, having already hurt Sri Lanka with an unbeaten double-century in his team’s victory in the second Test of a recent three-match series.
Although India lost the series 2-1, Sehwag was one of the few batsmen to salvage batting pride as he emerged his team’s top scorer with 344 runs.
“Jayasuriya in form is always a great thing because he can contribute with both bat and ball,” Jayawardene told reporters on Sunday.“The start he gives makes a huge difference. If he stays for 10 or 15 overs, you are guaranteed a good start. He is a bit like Sehwag for India. That gives a different dimension to our set-up.”Jayasuriya has been haunting India ever since he cracked a 76-ball 79 in a 1996 World Cup match at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground in New Delhi to power his team to an emphatic victory.
He was a trendsetter, redefining batting in the 1996 Cup with his consistent over-the-top hitting in the early overs to take advantage of fielding restrictions.
Other teams followed suit, bringing in a hard-hitter at the top of the order.Jayasuriya appears to have a special liking for the Indian attack, having scored 2,429 runs in 74 matches with six hundreds. His best in 416 one-day internationals �" 189 at Sharjah in 2000 �" also came against India.