5 knocks by Kumar Sangakkara the undisputed Talisman of Sri Lankan cricket

5 knocks by Kumar Sangakkara the undisputed Talisman of Sri Lankan cricket: Kumar Sangakkara, an elegant stroke player, an astute thinker and a reliable keeper has been the cornerstone of Sri Lankan cricket for the past decade. Part of the modern generation of wicket keeper-batsmen, his versatility is the prime reason for his success. Sanga reflects his style on the field with equally intelligence off it. He possesses a degree in law and is also known to be a voracious reader. Kumar Sangakkara is a complete person in the truest sense of the word and is described by the greats as one of the most ‘polished and prudent’ batsmen in modern cricket. As he prepares to play his last Test for Sri Lanka starting August 20 let us relive some of his best Test knocks. 5 knocks by Kumar Sangakkara the undisputed Talisman of Sri Lankan cricket 1. 287 v South Africa, Colombo, 2006: This Test will forever be remembered for the mammoth record partnership of 624 between Sangakkara (287) and Jayawardene (374) that set up an innings-and-153-run win over Ashwell Prince’s team at the SSC. After the early loss of Tharanga and Jayasuriya, Sangakkara found his all time best mate as his partner. His partnership with Mahela Jayawardene went on to become a historic one as Sanga scored a magnificient 287 and missed out on a well deserved triple ton. He was extremely fluent throughout the innings and no bowler ever looked to trouble him even a bit. There have been very few alliances in Test cricket that were as clinical and commanding as that memorable stand. Also Read – Top 10 Teams with most individual double centuries in Tests 2. 232 v South Africa, Colombo, 2004: Kumar Sangakkara. (Photo Source: AFP) South Africa learnt how dangerous it is to drop Sangakkara the hard way. Jacques Kallis put down a regulation catch off Shaun Pollock when Sangakkara was on 57, and he made the most of the reprieve, scoring his sixth Test century, also his third double ton. Sangakkara made 232 of Sri Lanka’s 470 runs in the first innings, a knock that included 31 fours and a six. South Africa were then bowled out for just 189 and Sangakkara had some fun once again in the second essay, making a 58-ball 64 to set up an easy win. It was Sri Lanka’s first series victory over South Africa. 3. 230 v Pakistan, Lahore, 2002: Kumar Sangakkara. (Photo Source: Victor Isaacs) Big matches call for big names to step up, and Sangakkara did just that in the final of the Asian Test Championship against Pakistan. Pakistan, batting first, only managed a modest 230 courtesy a 4-wicket haul from Muttiah Muralitharan. Sangakkara breezed away to his maiden Test double century as he had partnerships of 203 with Sanath Jayasuriya and 173 with Mahela Jayawardene. Sri Lanka ended with a massive lead of 294 and the bowlers took over to deliver a comfortable win. Sanga’s classic knock lasted 327 balls with the aid of 33 fours and 3 sixes. He batted for nearly 480 minutes as the Lankans posted 528. Sri Lanka later went on to win the Test by 8 wickets. 4. 192 v Australia, Hobart, 2007: As often the case away from home, Sangakkara entered at the loss of an early wicket but switched on to recovery mode well, adding 143 with Atapattu. But a double-strike on 158, with Brett Lee dismissing skipper Jayawardene for a golden duck, set back Sri Lanka. Eight wickets down, Sri Lanka were staring at a crushing defeat, but Sanga kept the visitors in the game with a masterful innings that ended 8 short of another Test double and at one stage threatened to complete a remarkable chase of 507. Sangakkara though, was given out caught by Ricky Ponting at second slip off Stuart Clark when going for a pull shot and the umpire failed to spot the ball going off his shoulder. Nevertheless it was a tremendous innings scored in 431 minutes from 282 balls with 27 fours and 1 six. 5. 152 v England, Kandy, 2007: This special effort in the 2nd innings was instrumental in Sri Lanka taking a lead in the series. In the 1st innings, Sangakkara had made 92 out of Lanka’s total of 188. England then made 281. Sri Lanka had taken a slender lead by the time Sangakkara marked his guard at 113/1, and started to grind England down with a masterful 152 that turned the tables and left Michael Vaughan’s team needing to save the Test. It was his 4th score of 150-plus in successive Tests, filled with delightful strokes to the offside, which accounted for over two-thirds of Sangakkara’s runs. This innings from Sangakkara also took him past Ponting to No 1 in the Test ratings at that time.