Kumar Sangakkara essentially comes across as a well spoken, highly insightful and a man of Great Spirit and character but beneath that lies an unsung hero of Sri Lankan cricket. Sangakkara does not have the power of Sanath Jayasuriya or the deftness of Mahela Jayawardene or the guile of Muthiah Muralitharan but he has always been a great asset for the team, be it behind the wicket or in front of it. He has been one of the most consistent performers of all three formats of the modern game.
Kumar Sangakkara – Sri Lanka’s Wall
Most of his big knocks have come when the team was down and out with the recent match saving innings versus Pakistan proving to be a clear example. On October 22nd, he played a phenomenal innings of 211 to save the test match for Lanka as the team was on the verge of a humiliating defeat. Being the consistent batsman that he is, Sangakkara followed it up with an unbeaten 112 against the same opposition in the final test to propel Sri Lanka to 245-2, notching his 27th test century.
Having played international cricket for more than 11 years now, he has been a perfect team man adjusting in any batting position and team combination. He kept wickets in all forms of the game apart from opening the batting for Sri Lanka but gave up wicket keeping in tests recently to concentrate more on his batting skills. He captained the national side and under him the team reached the World Cup finals in 2011 following which he gave up his captaincy.
Sangakkara on Thursday became the 11th batsman in the world and only the second Sri Lankan after Mahela Jayawardene to cross 9000 or more runs in Test cricket and will soon be part of the 10,000 runs club. He has been the most reliable batsman in the middle order always stepping up to the plate when the team needed him, time and again. The Lankans have been almost invincible at home but overseas they are a vulnerable side. But Sangakkara has a mind-blowing record away from home as well with an average of 50.17.
With an impeccable batting technique, the stylish left hander has many a distinction to his credit topping the charts for Test batsmen several times and ranking third in the list of double centurions only behind the great Sir Don Bradman and the legendary Brian Lara. He became the first Sri Lankan and the only active cricketer to deliver the Cowdrey Lecture, when he delivered the 11th MCC Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s on 4th July, 2011.
Sangakkara’s multilingual abilities, capacity to perform under pressure, well turned out personality and exemplary temperament has made him one of the most endearing individuals on and off the field. Not only has he taken Sri Lankan cricket to great heights but he has also been a true ambassador of the sport and the nation.
Tags: Cricket, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Test Match, Wall
