Spinners can bring victory for Sri Lanka - Sangakkara

Chris Dhambarage reporting from Asgiriya

Kumar Sangakkara said that the words of advice from former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga has helped him to establish himself as a solid middle order batsman and to emerge as one of the prolific run getters in Test cricket in the modern era.

The stylish left hander recalled the words in which Ranatunga had always reminded him to score a century once he had got pass the half century mark. He said that a lot of hard work and the ideal preparations in the recent past on different conditions have also helped him to make some big score.

Sangakkara said that now he seemS to have a better knowledge of the game and what to work on, and what to do at practices. He said that he stuck to his basics and let the bat do the rest and since then everything seem to be falling into place right now. He said that batting has looked much easier ever since he gave up the wicket keeping gloves but is always prepared to take up the job if his team is needed.

Sangakkara said that he was never concentrating on any records but his main intention was to bat as long as possible and to stretch the lead beyond the 350 run mark.

He also admitted that he was a bit nervous in the 90's because he was approaching a maiden Test hundred against England. He said that there is no matter how many centuries he has scored in the past but the first three figure mark against any opposition is always a special kind of one.

Sangakkara said that there is a little bit of unpredictability on the wicket but stated that it is still a good one to bat if the batsmen are prepared to concentrate and put their heads down.

Even then he was confident that Sri Lanka would pull off the game on the fifth and final day with Muttiah Muralitharan expected to play a major role in the game.

Sangakkara said that it is important for them to pick up a couple of early wickets today in an attempt to expose the England middle order as early as possible. He said that the spinners could hold the key to Sri Lanka's success and expected even Sanath Jayasuriya and Chamara Silva to get some turn from the wicket. (ASGIRIYA, Kandy).

The players who have scored a century against all Test playing nations:

(1).Marvan Atapattu (Sri Lanka)

(2).Steve Waugh (Australia)

(3).Brain Lara (West Indies)

(4).Sachin Tendulkar (India)

(5).Rahul Dravid (India)

(6).Garry Kirestan (South Africa)

(7).Jacque Kallis (South Africa)

(8).Ricky Ponting (Australia)

(9).Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)