Sangakkara’s century lifts Sri Lanka
Kumar Sangakkara notched his 27th Test hundred to propel Sri Lanka to
an imperious 245-2 on the opening day of the third and final cricket
Test against Pakistan on Thursday.
The 34-year-old stylish left-hander ended the day on 112 his second
hundred of the series after hitting 211 in the first Test, guiding his
team during a 173-run second wicket stand with Tillakaratne Dilshan who
made 92.
That repair-damaging stand followed the early loss of opener Tharanga
Paranavitana (four) who fell off paceman Umar Gul’s fifth ball of the
match after Sri Lanka decided to bat on a batting-friendly Sharjah
stadium pitch.
Sangakkara, who topscored with 78 during Sri Lanka’s nine wicket
defeat in the second Test in Dubai, also completed 9,000 Test runs when
he reached 28, hitting a crisp boundary off paceman Junaid Khan.
The former Sri Lankan captain is the 11th batsman in the world and
only the second Sri Lankan behind Mahela Jayawardene (9895 runs) to
cross 9,000 or more in all Test cricket.
He jumped out of his crease to lift left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman for
his second six to reach the three-figure mark his seventh against
Pakistan to show why he is currently regarded as the top batsmen in the
world.
He has so far hit 11 boundaries during his near six-hour stay at the
crease. Partnering him was Mahela Jayawardene on 32.
Dilshan, who had 38 runs in the last four innings, realised he
belonged to the top of the order as he shrugged away the poor form,
hitting 12 boundaries and a six during his 168-ball knock.
Sri Lankan batting coach Marvan Atapattu praised Sangakkara.
“He is a fantastic player and is getting mature with time,” said
Atapattu of Sangakkara, the fastest to reach 9,000 runs beating India’s
Rahul Dravid who reached the mark in 176 innings to Sangakkara’s 172.
Dilshan’s elevation to the top meant opener Lahiru Thirimanne was
axed while paceman Suranga Lakmal was also left out to bring in
off-spinner Suraj Randiv and 26-year-old paceman Kosala Kulasekara for
his first Test.
The change at the top did not help Sri Lanka to a flying start as
Paranavitana edged the fifth ball of the innings from Gul and was
smartly snapped up by Younis Khan in the slips, with the score at four.
Two balls before his dismissal, Paranavitana was dropped at forward
short-leg by Azhar Ali, but the opener failed to capitalise on the
chance.
Pakistan introduced spin at both ends after 10 overs, but the batsmen
remained untroubled.
Dilshan survived an easy catch off a short ball from Gul, which
seemed to have hit the glove, but Indian umpire Shahvir Tarapore
remained unmoved.
Pakistan also fluffed a chance to stump Sangakkar, batting on 68,
when the wicket-keeper missed a sharp Saeed Ajmal delivery.
But in the seventh over after tea, Dilshan miscued a drive off
spinner Ajmal and was caught in the lone slip by Younis. AFP
SRI LANKA
1ST INNINGS
T. Paranavitana c Younis b Gul 4
T. Dilshan c Younis b Ajmal 92
K. Sangakkara not out 112
M. Jayawardene not out 32
Extras: (lb3, nb2) 5
Total: (for two wkts) 245
Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Paranavitana), 2-177 (Dilshan).
Bowling: Gul 17-6-43-1 (nb1), Khan 17-2-63-0 (nb1), Ajmal 27-3-71-1, Rehman 24-5-62-0, Hafeez 1-0-3-0
Overs: 86
Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Taufiq Umar, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain),
Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Umar Gul, Junaid Khan. |