Jayawardene crosses 12,000 runs in ODI cricket

NEW DELHI: Sri Lankan batting sensation Mahela Jayawardene, completed 12,000 runs in ODI cricket on Sunday, after scoring a ton against India in the third limited overs match in Hyderabad.

Jayawardene notched up his 17th ODI ton to help the Lankans set a modest 243-run target for the Indians.

Jayawardene became the fifth batsman in the history of the game to score 12,000 runs in ODI cricket. He overtook former Pakistani skipper Inzamam-ul Haq, who had scored 11,739 runs.

The batting maestro got out to Ravichandran Ashwin after scoring a well made 118 off just 124 deliveries. His prolific innings consisted of 12 boundaries and a six.

Jayawardene with 12,002 runs, also became the third Sri Lankan in the top five list of highest ODI run-getters. He is behind Sanath Jayasuriya (13,430) and Kumar Sangakkara (12,918) in terms of runs scored by Lankan batsmen.

Former India maestro Sachin Tendulkar leads the list with 18,426 runs, followed by ex- Australia skipper Ricky Ponting who had amassed 13,704 runs.