Maybe that is why he is still playing, maybe there is another peak to be conquered, maybe a point to be proved, maybe just the fear of it being all over one day. But his body is holding up to the challenge, he is still turning quickly for the second and charging from point. That is the key. When the body starts complaining, it isn’t fun anymore.

Only twice in recent times have I wondered at the wisdom of continuing. In Australia he seemed to be a fraction late against Brett Lee and in the IPL, young Ishant Sharma had him bowled playing late. Against the quickest maybe the eye is a touch slow in sending signals to the brain. But those are occasional moments. In Mumbai this year the crowds wanted him to go on. “Suryaaaaaa, Surya” they chanted and he blushed shyly in the dressing room as he often does. There is little sign of the arrogance that can sometimes visit those that achieve much.

But for some reason he is putting catches down. Not the tough ones that fly by, and which he could catch, but the slow, loopy ones that he would hold ten times out of ten. Could it be the eye? Surely it couldn’t because balls are still being dispatched over point and through cover. But it is something worth pondering over.

I asked Marvan Atapattu, who is with us in our studio for the Asia Cup, how it was being non-striker when Jayasuriya was in full flow. Did he make it easier for he almost scored enough for two? Surely his partner didn’t need to worry about things like strike rates etc? Atapattu had a different point of view. He thought the pressure was on him to keep taking singles all the time since Jayasuriya was the player everyone, including him, wanted to watch. Sometimes, he said, you could almost try too hard to get a single.

... contd.