 Jayawardene is hugged by his senior pro Sanath Jayasuriya |
"After losing early wickets I knew I had to bat out the 50 overs and get a score on the board," he said, following the win over New Zealand.
Sri Lanka will now face either South Africa or Australia on Saturday.
"If you're going to win the World Cup you might as well beat the best so whoever comes along I'm sure our guys are confident enough."
Having lost to Australia in the semi-finals under the Duckworth-Lewis ruling four years ago, Jayawardene was pleased history did not repeat itself.
"We've been playing some really good cricket but the most important thing was for us to turn up for this game and stick to the basics, to bowl in good areas and bat in partnerships," he said.
"Even though it was a big game it was still a game of cricket, and all credit to the guys. We knew all about New Zealand and it was a tough game for us."
Jayawardene, the man-of-the-match, was also pleased his side were able to post a good score despite the loss of Sanath Jayasuriya, who has scored two centuries in the tournament, for only a single.
"We've had a lot of belief in our batting and a lot of guys have chipped in," he said. "It's all about taking responsibility and getting the job done.
"Obviously Sanath missed out here but hopefully he can get a big one in the final."
"The hundred wasn't in my mind, I just wanted to bat the 50 overs and make sure I was still there at the end. A few shots connected, it was a pretty small ground, so everything went very well."
There was a marked contrast in the compilation of his innings, with 48 balls required to score his first boundary but his second fifty taking only 28 deliveries.
"The first fifty I was just just trying to survive, get singles, rotate the strike and build partnerships," he explained.
"[Tillakaratne] Dilshan changed the momentum of the whole set-up, he came in and got quick runs so there was less pressure on me.
"I thought I would wait until the 45th over and then see what I could do."
Jayawardene then had an inspired moment in the field as he brought on Dilshan to break the important partnership between Peter Fulton and Scott Styris.
"We can give the ball to a lot of guys, they have a lot of confidence in themselves," he said.
"I was just juggling around, I needed a wicket at that particular moment, I didn't want to use my strike bowlers up that early in the innings and Dilshan chipped in then we realised we could go through their innings.
"That's when Murali came in and obviously he's a great bowler and he got the job done."
The master spinner himself was seen beaming even more vigorously than usual at the start of play.
"I was confident because I thought this would be a turning wicket," he revealed, before paying tribute to his captain's sublime century.
"Mahela's innings was one of the most brilliant I have ever seen," he said.
Murali's four-wicket haul saw him overtake Australian veteran Glenn McGrath as the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 23 scalps.
"Bowling round the wicket helps me a lot, that's a tactic we use for right-handed batsmen because you can't see which way the ball is going."
The 34-year-old used his infamous doosra to good effect on several occasions and added: "People were ready for sweeping so I thought the doosra would get the top-edge."
Mahela Jayawardene's masterful maiden World Cup century led Sri Lanka into the World Cup final with an 81-run victory against New Zealand in Jamaica.
The captain took 48 balls to strike his first boundary but paced his ninth one-day century expertly.
Sri Lanka scored 102 runs from the final 10 overs to amass 289-5.
Peter Fulton and Scott Styris shared 73 but five wickets fell for 11 runs in four overs as the Kiwis suffered a fifth World Cup semi-final defeat.
New Zealand needed a sound start and a magnificent spell from charismatic paceman Lasith Malinga ensured they did not get one.
The Sri Lanka bowlers were aided by some cloud cover not evident when they batted, but exploited the conditions superbly.
Having nipped one back at pace to trap Stephen Fleming in the second over, Malinga produced a succession of unplayable leg cutters that Ross Taylor and Fulton could only smile wistfully at as the ball fizzed past the outside edge.
In partnership with the economical Chaminda Vaas they left the Kiwis in turmoil and the first boundary did not materialise until the ninth over.
There was a brief period of respite when Malinga was taken off after a spell of 1-5 from four overs and Dilhara Fernando replaced him.
In his first over Fernando was twice warned for running down the wicket by Rudi Koertzen and bowled three no-balls.
Styris, with a century and four fifties already to his name in the tournament, despatched him for two sixes.
Malinga returned and had him well caught for 17 at mid-on by Muttiah Muralitharan, but no-ball was called and Styris and Fulton recorded their 50 stand from as many deliveries.
With dark clouds beginning to close in around Sabina Park, Sri Lanka were relieved to reach 20 overs, the point at which a result could be determined.
At that stage, however, the partnership had taken New Zealand only two runs behind the required Duckworth-Lewis rate.
Occasional spinner Tillakaratne Dilshan was introduced in the 22nd over and made the decisive breakthrough with his fifth ball, Styris chipping to mid-wicket.
But few could have predicted the severity of the collapse that was to follow.
Murali managed to cling on to a return catch offered by Jacob Oram, while Brendon McCullum injudiciously top-edged a sweep next ball and was brilliantly caught by a diving Chamara Silva at square-leg.
Fulton's resistance ended in the next over and though Craig McMillan managed to swipe two sixes despite being severely hampered by a stomach muscle injury, the Black Caps were already at half-mast.
Last man Jeetan Patel launched Dilshan for a straight six in a final wicket stand of 59 from 10 overs but the Sri Lankans were not to be denied a place in the final for the first time since their memorable victory in 1996.
Jayawardene's day began well when he won the toss and quickly decided to bat first. With Stephen Fleming admitting he was also keen to bat first, it looked looked like being a significant factor.
But Sanath Jayasuriya looked back in disbelief in the third over after his attempt to turn a straight one from James Franklin failed and the middle stump was knocked back.
That counteracted some early success for Sri Lanka when Shane Bond, New Zealand's strike bowling weapon, struggled with his line and was glanced for two fours in his opening over by Upul Tharanga.
Bond was taken out of the attack after his four overs went for 18, Tharanga adopting a bold approach in the absence of Jayasuriya.
Kumar Sangakkara was dismissed when advancing down the wicket and mis-timing high off the bat to mid-on, while Tharanga's innings ended on 73 when he missed a sweep and was bowled around his legs.
Bond returned after 32 overs and had success, but the paceman was fortunate with a dubious decision.
Silva swept Vettori into the second tier at mid-wicket to give some impetus to the innings but was given lbw by Koertzen when replays showed a thick inside edge into his pad.
Jayawardene, who arrived at the crease in the 14th over, hooked a short one from Bond for four and was on 46 with 10 overs left in which to accelerate.
A magnificently struck straight drive off Oram disappeared into the sightscreen but Jayawardene's second six was due to a lapse from Bond at fine-leg.
Jayawardene, who failed to reach double figures in the 2003 World Cup, had made 69 when he swept a full toss from Patel, but Bond could only tip the ball onto the rope in an over costing 14.
The captain maintained the momentum, however, with cuts of contrasting power to the backward point fence off Franklin in the 47th over.
Two more boundaries in the penultimate over took him to three figures, his ninth one-day century recorded in style with a textbook square cut.
There was more to come in the final over from a rattled Bond, Jayawardene hooking a full toss for his third six as he and Russel Arnold raced to a 50 stand from 26 balls to leave the Kiwis firmly on the back foot.
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