Batting first India, declared their first innings at 537 for 8, with three batsmen -- Navjot Sidhu,Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Azhruddin -- scoring centuries.
Little did they know what was in store for them.
When Sri Lanka batted, spinner Nilesh Kulkarni nabbed opener Marvan Atapattu with his first ball in Test cricket to raise Indian hopes of a Sri Lankan batting collapse.
Unfortunately, the next wicket fell 1,103 balls later, as Jayasuriya (340 runs, 799 minutes, 578 balls,36 fours and 2 sixes) and Roshan Mahanama (225 runs, 753 minutes, 591 balls, 28 fours) shared Test cricket's then highest (576) and longest (753 minutes) partnership.
They were the first pair to bat throughout two uninterrupted days of Test cricket during a stand that fell just one run short of the then world first-class cricket record.
Jayasuriya's innings was then the highest for Sri Lanka and also the highest first-class score recorded in Sri Lanka.
Aravinda de Silva chipped in with 126. Sri Lanka's innings lasted for more than three days, and when Ranatunga finally ended India's ordeal by declaring the innings, Sri Lanka had reached a world record 952 for six!
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