Sublime Sangakkara's Swansong Ends In Disappointment
August 23, 2015
Kumar Sangakkara, who rose to become one of the greatest Sri Lankan to have played the game, walked out to bat for one final time in international cricket amid a standing ovation at the P Sara Oval and guard of honour by the visiting Indian team.
The sizable crowd expectedly applauded when the stylish southpaw made his way on to the field and next came the guard of honour by the local cricketers, followed by the Virat Kohli-led team which had given the 37-year-old due respect on his arrival at the crease even in the first innings.
His last waltz though ended after he made just 18 runs with the help of three boundaries.
To most lovers of the gentleman's game, Sangakkara might have a few good years left in him but the legend's decision to retire can only be respected.
He walked into the middle with his team under pressure, a situation that brought the best out of him more often than not over the last 15 years.
Coming in to bat after the fall of Kaushal Silva in the third over and Sri Lanka given an imposing 413 target, the stage was set for Sangakkara to take his team home one last time.
He started his swansong confidently, flicking Ravichandran Ashwin for a couple. Soon followed a boundary of over throws before the sublime Sangakkara stroked two delightful fours off Ishant Sharma, one clipped off the pads and another his trademark straight drive off a half volley.
Just when he looked to go out on a high, Ashwin had him caught at gully for run a ball 18, bringing an end to a glorious career. It was Ashwin getting the better of Sangakkara for the fourth consecutive time in the series.
He made his way into the dressing room just like he had arrived at the centre, amid a fitting guard of honour. The Indian fielders duly lined up to shake hands with one of Sri Lanka's best known cricketers and statesman.
Such was the mood around the ground that his emotional fans did not take long to trudge out of the stadium.
He ended with 12400 runs in 134 Tests at an average of 57.40 and 14234 runs from 404 ODIs at 41.98.
(PTI)
Sangakkara Thanks His Fans Following His Last Test Innings
August 23, 2015Sri Lankan cricketing legend Kumar Sangakkara thanked his fans following his dismissal in his last Test cricket innings, which marked the end of a 15 year international career.
"Thank you for all the love. Been my privilege to play for my country and in front of all the fans" Sangakkara Tweeted a short while ago.
His last Test innings was a disappointement as he scored only 18 runs with the help of three boundaries. However, it does not diminish the significance of his career, which saw his score more than 12,000 Test runs with eleven double centuries.
He was a consistence performer in all forms of cricket, especially the longer version. His friend Mahela Jayawardene recently said that Sangakkara was the best batsman produced by Sri Lanka ever.
Sangakkara Fails In Farewell, Lankans End Day 2 At 140/3
August 21, 2015
Retiring legend Kumar Sangakkara failed to get a big knock in his swansong Test appearance but Sri Lanka overcame an early jolt to reach 140/3 after dismissing India for 393 in the first innings of the second cricket Test here today.
Resuming at the overnight score of 319/6, India were bowled out shortly after the lunch break
and the hosts treaded cautiously to keep the match on an even keel at the end of the second day's play.
Opener Kaushal Silva (51 off 117 balls) played a watchful innings to ensure that the early loss of fellow opener Dimuth Karunaratne did not trigger a top-order collapse.
His dismissal towards the fag end of the day, however, put the side slightly on the backfoot given that the home team is still 253 runs behind.
Sangakkara was given a guard of honour by the Indians as he walked in to bat when the hosts lost their first wicket with just one run on the board.
However, it did not quite turn out to be a fairytale ending for the veteran batsman, who was dismissed by off- spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for 32 after facing 87 deliveries.
After Sangakkara's departure, Lahiru Thirimanne (28 batting) and Silva added 39 runs for the third wicket before India took the slight edge by snaring the latter.
When stumps were drawn for the day, Thirimanne and skipper Angelo Mathews (19) were holding fort for the Lankans.
Earlier, resuming at the overnight score, India were bowled three overs after lunch as Rangana Herath took 4/81.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha, who had scored a 60 in the first Test, played a 56-run knock to take India past the 350 figure.
The Indians scored at a slow pace in the morning session as Saha shepherded the lower order to avoid a below-par total in the first innings of this match.
The visiting side could pull off a mere 67 runs in this first session of play in 23.4 overs.
(PTI)
#ThankYouSanga
August 20, 2015Kumar Sangakkara came to field in his last Test match at P. Sara Oval a short while ago, under a 'Guard of Honor'.
This Will Be An Emotional Game For Us: Mathews
August 20, 2015
Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews today said his team will look to give retiring legend Kumar Sangakkara a winning send off when they take on India in a highly-emotional second cricket Test starting here tomorrow.
Sangakkara will bid farewell to international cricket after the second Test and Mathews said it will be a highly emotional affair for his side.
"It's going to be an emotional game for all of us as a great of Sri Lanka cricket, a great servant for the team, and a great human being is saying goodbye," said Mathews today.
"We can't thank him enough for what he has done for Sri Lankan cricket and the team over the past so many years. We thank him truly and wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.
"The best we could do is try and win the game so that we win the series. That will be the best farewell for him. We are trying our best to do that. The boys are all well prepared. We trained extremely hard in the past two days, even though it rained yesterday, on all aspects of the game and we are ready to go," he added.
It has been a muted affair here in Sri Lanka, ever since the Test series began. Sangakkara himself has stayed away from all the attention, instead focusing on his last international match.
The coming few days will nevertheless see an outpouring of emotion from every quarter.
"From what I can see, he just wants to score a hundred tomorrow. He's worked extremely hard and is so determined to do that and I truly wish and hope he does that. It's going to be an emotional game for him as well," said Mathews.
"He's been with us for so long, with the national team, and he has been the backbone of Sri Lankan batting over the past 18 years. It's going to be tough game for him as well emotionally but all good things have to come to an end unfortunately. After the match, we will have a small get-together farewell for him as well," he added.
Sri Lanka had won the first Test in Galle in a shocking turn-around.
India had dominated that match for the first three days and somehow the hosts managed to turn it around and shock the tourists with a 63-run win.
Mathews said: "We can improve a lot when it comes to all three departments. India had us by our throats for three and a half days, and the courage and the character the boys showed to come back within three sessions to win the game is unbelievable.
"Now we have already shoved that under the carpet and it's history. We have got two more games to go. We have got to play very good cricket to beat India no matter where we play at home or away.
"It's a tremendous challenge for all of us to beat them. It's going to be a tough ask so we will give it our best shot. We have to play really good cricket to win against them.
"When it comes to confidence, yes it was a great turnaround for us. When you win a game and pull a rabbit out of the bag, it is tremendous for the confidence of the team. We can't be thinking of the last game though, and we have got to move on. We are starting a fresh game tomorrow," he added.
A hard deck is expected for the game, but it is also expected to turn as grass was shaved off the wicket today.
When asked if the Indian batsmen have trouble countering spin as compared to Indian batsmen of the past, Mathews replied in the negative.
"You are comparing the legends of the game with this young Indian team. When it comes to Sanga and Mahela there is quite a difference when it comes to our team as well. You can't really compare the Sachins, Dravids and Laxmans with the young and upcoming Indian team.
"But they are extremely good batsmen and with time they will improve. They have not played too many games for India yet, but with time they will be really good players," he signed off.
(The New Indian Express)
Farewell!
August 15, 2015Indian Test captain Virat Kohli congratulated Kumar Sangakkara after Sri Lanka beats India by 63 runs in Galle on Saturday. That was Sangakkara's last test match played at Galle International Cricket Stadium.
(Photo : The Hindu)
Galle Gives Emotional Farewell To Kumar Sangakkara
August 15, 2015
The Sri Lankan supporters and players present at the Galle International stadium gave a fitting farewell to Kumar Sangakkara playing his penultimate Test match at the very venue he made his debut 15 years ago.
It could not have been a better last match in Galle for their favourite son as the home team scripted one of their finest turnarounds with a 63-run win.
While it was a quiet Test match by Sangakkara's standards as he scored 5 and 40 in the two innings but one could find him delirious with joy as Tharindu Kaushal dismissed Amit Mishra to complete a famous Test win.
Once the match was over, Sangakkara ran towards his teammates and first hugged the two prime performers Dinesh Chandimal and Rangana Herath. Skipper Angelo Mathews also came and gave him a warm hug.
Normally not a very expressive character, Sangakkara was not exactly keen on people carrying him on their shoulders but fast bowlers Dhamika Prasad and the others forcefully lifted him on their shoulders, taking him around the ground for a lap of honour amid a standing ovation.
The VIP box had the Sangakkara family -- all in attendance. Wife Yehali and the two kids -- a son and a daughter watched as the Lankan legend walked out of his favourite ground one last time.
(The Times of India)
Sri Lanka Bat First In Sangakkara's Penultimate Test
August 12, 2015
Angelo Mathews won a crucial toss and chose to bat first in the first Test between Sri Lanka and India in Galle.
This is the final match Kumar Sangakkara will be playing in Galle, where he started his test cricket career fifteen years ago.
Sangakkara came back into the side to play his penultimate Test match, and the veteran spinner Rangana Herath's comeback also pointed at a turning track.
Upul Tharanga and Suranga Lakmal made way for them, and Lahiru Thirimanne retained his place.
Keeping a spinning track in mind, India stacked their side with three spinners, which meant leg spinner Amit Mishra came back to play his first Test in four years.
Mishra had happy memories of Sri Lanka: the last time he played there, in 2010, he was part of a Test win, at P Sara Oval in Colombo. Umesh Yadav made way for the extra spinner.
The only change in the Indian side was the comeback of KL Rahul, who had missed the Bangladesh Test because of dengue. He replaced Murali Vijay, who now has a hamstring injury. India kept persisting with Rohit Sharma at No. 3 ahead of Cheteshwar Pujara.
Sri Lanka 1 Kaushal Silva, 2 Dimuth Karunaratne, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Lahiru Thirimanne, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 7 Jehan Mubarak, 8 Dhammika Prasad, 9 Tharindu Kaushal, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Nuwan Pradeep
India 1 KL Rahul, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Rohit Sharma, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 7 R Ashwin, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 Varun Aaron, 11 Amit Mishra
(With inputs from espncricinfo)
Sangakkara Thanks Selectors For Relieving Him From Wicketkeeping
August 11, 2015
Kumar Sangakkara said that being relieved of the gloves in Tests was the "best thing" that happened to his career.
"I didn't like it when they stopped me keeping," Sangakkara said. "But the selection committee spoke to me and said: 'What we're trying to do is improve your batting and to get you scoring more runs for the team. We are asking you to do this. It will be better for the team and better for you.' At the time, I thought: 'That's not true. I can do both.' But when I look back on it now, that was the best thing to happen to me. It's great that they took that decision for me, without letting me take it. That has hugely influenced the runs that I scored, and the centuries I made."
Sangakkara had begun his Test career behind the stumps, as Romesh Kaluwitharana's replacement. Even though he had some success with the bat in the early years, averaging 46.90 in mid-2006, the Ashantha de Mel-led selection committee believed he would be more valuable to the side as a specialist batsman. Sangakkara had by then become Sri Lanka's regular No. 3 batsman, raising concerns that he would be too fatigued to excel at both roles.
A nine-year boom in his batting output has followed the decision to play him as a batsman only. In 84 Tests as a specialist batsman, Sangakkara has hit 9188 runs at an average of 68.05. That average is only second to Don Bradman's for non-wicketkeepers who have scored more than 1000 Test runs.
Sangakkara admitted he regrets not having won a World Cup after playing in two finals, but took particular pleasure from Sri Lanka's performances in major tournaments. Sri Lanka's inability to win Tests in Australia and India had also grated, but the team has generally fared better in England. They drew 1-1 in 2006, then defeated England 1-0 last year.
"I remember going to England with the team last year, and beating England 1-0 in that series was the best overseas tour I have been on," he said. "In that 2006 series when we drew, we also won the one-dayers 5-0.
"All the wins we have had, especially away from home, have been special. Beating Australia for the first time in a one-day series in 2010, the World T20 which we won it - all of these have been really standout moments for me. But also, once Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Chaminda Vaas, Aravinda de Silva all of these guys left, I'm happy to have been part of a set-up that produced cricketers like Angelo Mathews, Lasith Malinga, Upul Tharanga - and the one guy who has been outstanding and who is never spoken about - Rangana Herath."
Though his batting is often called attractive, Sangakkara said he does not consider himself a stylist. "I used to have these arguments with Thilan Samaraweera in the dressing room about who had had the best looking forward defensive shot in the Sri Lankan side. He always told me that I had the ugliest forward defensive shot he had ever seen in his life and Mahela Jayawardene and Marvan Attapattu had the nicest," Sangakkara said.
"They always say the left-handers were extremely graceful. I watched Brian Lara, then Upul Tharanga and Lahiru Thirmanne from the younger lot, and feel they are much more pleasant to look at. Whenever I play the cover drive, with the back knee bent and head back, I just say to myself: 'How can that be stylish?' But I'm glad with the amount if runs I've scored and how effective I've been."
(espncricinfo)
