You had to be at the Oval to know:

Jayawardene was the star

Victory was a crowning moment:

Elmo Rodrigopulle reporting from England

You had to be at the Oval to feel the electrical impulses going through one's nervous system as Sri Lanka registered this magnificent victory in such style against Australia on Monday night.

On the heels of sending home England in their own home, they made some of the Aussies take that long flight home to 'down under'. If the deafening cheers that reverberated though the Oval was anything to go by, this victory seemed almost the crowning moment even though the tournament had just started.

To defeat England and Australia is no men achievement. As my Dialog Cell Phone rang incessantly with calls from Colombo sensed the excitement over here at the Oval, and the excitement was palpable across the seas.

Ever since the 'calling' of off spinner Muttiah Muralitheran on that acrimonious tour of Australia, a game between Sri Lanka and Australia brings out the cricketing devil in the Sri Lankan cricketers and as was on display at the Oval, it was no different.

To get to the bottom line Sri Lanka scored a respectable 253 for 8 in 50 overs and Australia could not match up to this making 233 all out in 42.3 overs. Jayawardene's magic knock had 12 fours in just 81balls.

He just massacred the Aussie pace and spin attack. Giving him good support was Tillakaratne Dilshan 34 in 58 balls with just one four. It was unlike Dilshan knock because he likes to bash

the bowlers around. Lahiru Thirimanne had solidity with 57 off 86 balls with 4 fours and stylish right hander Dinesh Chandimal lashed 31 in 32 balls with a four and a six.

If there are stars to be selected then the galaxy belonged that Lion Prince of Sri Lanka cricket Mahela Jayawardene who not only led the attack with his unbeaten and solid 84 that also saw him cross the career 11,000 run mark that made everyone doff their caps.

He joined a select band of cricketers who had reached that milestone which also includes Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara. Sangaklkara who made merry against England failed for once. But his dismissal was not felt because all the other batsmen rallied with supporting knocks.

'It felt really good to get 11,000 runs in one-day cricket. But wining this was the icing on the cake. We are playing hard and passionate cricket, but we need to enjoy the cricket.

'That has been the secret of our success in the past and we hope to continue it in the future. Seniors have a responsibility and it is our job to help captain Mathews out. That make us a happy team. We are looking forward to another tough match in the semi-final against India.

'You could see how desperate I was today. I'll always be desperate to win every game. It's simple as that. It's not about trophies or whatever - it's just to win matches. So I'll have that same passion and same desperation to win games, doesn't matter if it's a semi-final or a final or just any group game. As long as I have that attitude and the rest of the boys, we'll go a long way', said an elated former Sri Lanka captain who was easily the best the county has had. He is the darling of the media here. Kennington Oval, London, Tuesday.