COLOMBO, Aug 6: The sight of Sanat Teran Jayasuriya's forlorn figure retracing his steps back to the pavilion will be frozen in the minds forever. It was a spectacle full of pathos. The spectators were numbed into silence. There was stunned disbelief as Jayasuriya patted back a Rajesh Chauhan delivery into silly-point Saurav Ganguly's hands. He was gone for 340. Fate had crushed the dream of 18 million Sri Lankans.

The Premadasa Stadium was thrown open free for the masses. It was time for national celebration and the cricket authorities were not going to worship the cult of mammon on the joyous occasion. Just about 200 spectators were seen at the ground on the first three days of the match and around 400 yesterday. But with the possibility of Jayasuriya forcing Brian Lara to abdicate his throne as Test cricket's highest scorer (375), spectators queued up outside the ground from very earlier in the morning to occupy every available place in the stands.

Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama had already heightened the celebrations by targeting the Indian attack. Mahanama punishing Nilesh Kulkarni in his first over for three boundaries.

At the other end, Jayasuriya cornered Anil Kumble. He pierced the offside cordon thrice for fours. The atmosphere was electric. Then came the twin tragedies.

After 12 hours and 55 minutes of agonising wait, the leg-weary Indians finally found the Gods smiling on them. Mahanama was beaten on the shuffle by Kumble and was trapped leg before wicket.

The 576-run stand fell a mere one run short of equalling the best for any wicket in all first class cricket (Vijay Hazare and Gul Mohammed for the fourth wicket for Baroda against Holkar in 1946-47).

Two balls after Mahanama's exit, the party was over -- just 36 runs short for the moment all had come in anticipation, Jayasuriya lobbed a catch to silly point. Jayasuriya and Mahanama had said yesterday that they helped each other to regain their breath by rotating the strike accordingly. It was almost as if Jayasuriya had lost heart in continuing without Mahanama.

There was no apparent joy among the Indians. Maybe, a sense of relief. They empathised with the feeling of a champion who had come so close to realising a lifetime dream and failed.

The first to offer his commiserations was Ganguly himself. It was almost as if a sense of guilt had engulfed him, and his first reaction was to rush to Jayasuriya and offer his sympathies. ``It was a brilliant innings I was privileged to see. It was a spur of the moment decision to go up to Sanat and congratulate him,'' Ganguly told The Indian Express later.

The customary celebration at the fall of a wicket was missing. Instead, Ganguly's touching gesture triggered an example for his team-mates.There was spontaneous reactions from most of the Indian players as Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammed Azharuddin, Venkatesh Prasad, Rahul Dravid, Rajesh Chauhan, Navjot Sidhu and Anil Kumble all rushed up to Jayasuriya to offer their `condolences'. It was not just another dismissal. It was the death of a dream goal.

Jayasuriya and Mahanama had come out in the morning with Lionel and Percy Abeysekera, the two celebrated Lankan cheerleaders, escorting them out like sentinels. Now Jayasuriya was coming back with tears in his eyes in a funeral march, head bowed, swamped by the enormity of his personal tragedy.Jayasuriya had not just lost the chance of 36 more runs, he had also lost raking in millions by way of commercial endorsements. Alas...

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.