The Hindu : Sport : Sangakkara hundred puts Lanka in command

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 05, 2007
ePaper

Sport

Sport

Sangakkara hundred puts Lanka in command

Ted Corbett

Tough task awaits England on the final day; Muralitharan holds the key for the host

KANDY: Just 24 hours after Muttiah Muralitharan became the first among equals by taking his 709th Test wicket, Kumar Sangakkara joined an exclusive club by hitting a century off England to set up an unlikely victory in the first Test. By the end of the match he may top the World rankings. Sri Lanka cricket, only a quarter of a century old, has never seen a week like it.

Sangakkara’s 152, lucky since Ian Bell dropped a simple chance in the slips when he was on 98, means he has scored one century at least against each of the Test-playing countries.

Eight other batsmen have achieved this feat: Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Gary Kirsten, Rahul Dravid and Marvan Atapattu. You may add Matthew Hayden who has scored Test hundreds off every country except Bangladesh but hit another against the Rest of the World.

It was Sangakkara’s 16th Test hundred and his second in a spell in which he also hit 92 in the first innings of this match and 192 off the Australians. Since he discarded his wicketkeeping gloves he has scored 1,529 runs, including seven centuries, and hit 915 runs in a calendar year which did not begin until July.

Don Bradman would be proud of him. On the ground where he learnt his cricket, backing on to his old school, it must have been a satisfying achievement for the only lawyer turned world class batsman but not the only lawyer with a love of dispute.

He will expect Sri Lanka to capitalise on what he and Murali have done by winning on Wednesday although the weather may play a hand. When Sri Lanka was shot out for 188 an England victory looked a formality but the pressure from a supportive crowd, the excitement generated by Murali’s big day and Sangakkara’s relentless batting has turned the game upside down.

Harmison sorely missed

Sri Lanka led by 74 at the start of this fourth day; Mahela Jayawardene stayed almost until lunch as he and Sangakkara put on 122 for the third wicket very carefully. The pitch offered England’s attack no help and it was difficult to avoid the thought that if Steve Harmison had been bowling he might have wrenched more life out of it and may have shaken up the Sri Lankan middle order. Instead he was having a quiet lunch time nets with the bowling coach Otis Gibson. As it was those batsmen had plenty of time to play their shots, build their innings and, frankly, rub English noses in Sri Lankan dirt.

Sangakkara batted on as if the dismissal of Jayawardene, just before lunch, and Chamara Silva at 359, had never happened. Sri Lanka led by 199 at lunch and 299 at tea when Sangakkara was on 137. Jayawardene left it until three quarters of an hour before the end to declare at 442 for eight knowing that a single wicket on Tuesday evening might make all the difference, leaving plenty of time to finish the job on the last day.

Early breakthrough

His wish was granted immediately when Alastair Cook, having leg glanced a four first ball was neatly caught at slip by Silva off Chaminda Vaas. Only five overs were possible before darkness took charge but the damage had been done. A romantic may have expected England to make 350 in a long final day but scoring has been slow on a turgid pitch so far in this match. Murali, who is still tomorrow’s man, has already had one perfectly good lbw shout turned down.

The writing on the wall insists that Sri Lanka must win and, to be fair, any other result would be a travesty.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport