Mumbai, Nov. 19: Had it not been for his parents who encouraged Sri Lanka batsman Mahela Jayawardena to rebuild his career after his younger brother’s untimely demise affected the former deeply, the cricket world would have lost a quality batsman.

With Mahela having scored a brilliant 275 against India in the ongoing Ahmedabad Test, his father is expectedly over the moon. "I am very proud of my son’s innings. I was glued to the television set hoping that he would score a triple ton," said Senerath Jayawardena.

"I have no reason to be disappointed though, Mahela had already scored a 300 once before," he added.

The former Sri Lanka captain fell 25 runs short of his second triple ton, when he was bowled by leggie Amit Mishra on Thursday, the penultimate day of the Test. "I am sure that he will break Brian Lara’s world record of 400 runs, because he has the necessary temperament and the skills to achieve the same," the senior Jayawardena added.

Mahela had scored 374 against South Africa at the SSC in 2006.