Revision as of 19:13, 21 August 2015

2015: new records, Graphic courtesy The Times of India

Education

Kumar Sangakkara was a law student.

Sangakkara: Glorious innings

The Times of India, Aug 20 2015 Partha Bhaduri

Sanga was a multi-faceted batting legend who now needs to give back to the game

One of the most exquisitely engineered batting ma chines of his age, Kumar Sangakkara's charismatic, erudite presence also exuded a statesman-like quality in short supply among his contemporaries. These days, cricketers, especially the most competitive of them, often come across as a boorish, testy lot thriving in the socially-isolated bubble created by team managements and coaches. A recent India captain, at one stage, proudly proclaimed that he did not read newspapers or watch TV , presumably to avoid heartache if he stumbled into cricketing discussions.

The Australians, who are expected to flaunt a workmanlike manner, can be downright crass and loutish when it comes to the crunch on the field. Like politicians who think only of the next election, modern cricketers are taught to focus only on the next game, the next win. Witness Bangladesh's recent resurgence, which has also unleashed a distinctly edgy, vocally combative, often abusive aspect to the team.

It is here that Sangakkara was different. He was adroit at maintaining his perspective in the high-pressure cauldron of international cricket. The qualities which made him an ever-improving, ever-evolving batting artisan who compiled runs and milestones at an exponential rate, also contributed to making him many other things -as astute sledger who never resorted to invectives, a clever leader who knew how to maximize team input, a batsman supremely skilled at adapting to changing times and conditions.

Above all, perspicacity enabled him to become an admired Sri Lankan social unifier, a national icon who didn't shy away from addressing the difficult, relevant issue of ethnic strife. Sangakkara is, then, the ideal ambassador we want all legendary cricketers to be, and there can be no doubting his `legend' status or wondrous batting abilities -there will be reams written about his exact place in the hall of fame as he plays his last Test.

While not as sublime as Mahela Jayawardene or as fluid as Aravinda, the left-hander was in many ways a late bloomer, an exacting taskmaster when it came to his own batting -who chiselled away at the imperfections un til he could achieve an acceptable level , of consistency . At an age when batsmen usually cut down on their strokes, he was adding innovative stuff like the ramp shot, complementing the fa mous bent-knee cover drive with slog sweeps, pulls and scoops.

He was also a marvellous advert for batsmen-wicketkeepers to cut down on their 'keeping -averaging 67.39 in 85 games after giving up the gloves in Tests. He has the highest home average of 61.08 among batsmen with at least 6,000 Test runs, but was no weakling away -in Australia he averaged 60.33 (who can forget the 192 in Hobart), 61 in New Zealand (80.5 when not 'keeping), 48.5 in India as a captain and non-wicketkeeper. He has the highest batting average ever at No. 3 for those with a minimum of 8,000 runs -61.20 to Ponting's 56.27.

He has the third-highest batting average of all time among captains who led in at least 15 Tests. He has one less double century than the maximum ever: Bradman's 12. The awe-inspiring numbers could fill a whole book. “Most of the things I do don't seem elegant, but I'm glad I made up with the amount of runs I've scored and how effective I've been,“ Sanga said recently, summing it up better than anyone can.

But that's in the past. As Sanga looks beyond life with bat in hand, it is also time to recognize his impact off the field as a leading cricketer.Remember, it was only Sanga among cricketers who spoke out against the ban on Lankan players in Chennai, saying, “Politics will never curtail the spirit of the game.“

During the Suraj Randiv no-ball incident which threatened to disrupt player relations between India and Lanka on the 2010 tour, Sangakkara said, “We have regretted it (the incident). We are trying to do the right thing. (But) we can't expect one side to keep holding out the hand while it has been sensationalized by other players.“

In the now-famous Cowdrey Lecture in 2011, it was Sanga who talked about his family sheltering Tamils during the race riots of '83, adding, “I am Tamil, Sinhalese, Muslim and Burgher. I am a Buddhist, a Hindu, a follower of Islam and Christianity .“

It is Sanga, along with Muralitharan, who has adopted Mankulam, one of the flashpoints of Lanka's war.

It was also, in the same lecture, that Sanga dwelt on cricket's current existential crisis, saying, “We have reached a critical juncture in the game's history... unless we better sustain Test cricket, embrace technology enthusiastically , protect the game's global governance from narrow self-interest, and more aggressively root out corruption, then cricket will face an uncertain future.“

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is caught at a crossroads when it comes to juggling scheduling issues, addressing shortening attention spans and managing business interests and multiple formats. As it charts the game's future, the ICC could do well to mine Sanga's immense nous when it comes to standing up for cricket's spirit and sanctity in changing times. He is already among the players' representatives in the ICC cricket committee, but it may be time for a bigger role.

The Lankan hero has said he will not immediately embrace politics.It is time for cricket's administration, then, to embrace Sanga's vision anew by giving him a new role.

Bowling to Sangakkara

The Times of India, Aug 20 2015

Anil Kumble

It was always a challenge to bowl to Sangakkara

The P Sara Oval is one of Sri Lanka's oldest venues and it's only fitting that Kumar Sangakkara's home club gets to host his final Test. Obviously there will be a lot of emotions attached and it will be a very special feeling for the man himself, as this is the ground he grew up on. To end such an illustrious career in front of one's home fans is not an opportunity every cricketer gets. Sanga is undoubtedly one of the greats of the game and the fact that he has achieved so much as a batsman after having started as a wicketkeeper-batsman makes his achievements even greater.It makes it all unique. It certainly is a tribute to his fitness, his ability and passion. Remember, he took off the wicketkeeping gloves only recently and until then, he always braved the Lankan sun and all the humidity involved to first stand up to the guiles of Murali and his fellow spinners and then turn up at number three to hold the SKORE Lankan batting together in the company of another recently retired great, Mahela Jayawardene.

I know as a bowler I have been troubled enough by Sanga's ability with the bat.It was always a challenge to bowl to him and he only got better with time, perhaps playing his best cricket in the last 2-3 years.

Sanga also has a states man-like personality and not just by the way he carries himself on the field but on the field of life as well, and I LOGO am sure with his worldly acu men people will be looking to him to give back to the game in a different role. I wish San ga and his family well.

Coming to the second Test, the Indian team's prepa ration hasn't been ideal.

Double centuries

Kumar Sangakkara closes in on Don Bradman double ton record

4 January 2015 BBC

Basin Reserve, Wellington: On 4 January 2015 Kumar Sangakkara, then 37, scored his 11th Test double century to move one behind Australia legend Don Bradman's all-time record. He made 203 on day two of the second Test against New Zealand to help his side to 356 all out.

The Leading double centurions in Test cricket are:

12 - D Bradman (Australia); 11 - K Sangakkara (Sri Lanka); 9 - B Lara (West Indies); 7 - W Hammond (England), M Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) 6 - M Atapattu (Sri Lanka), V Sehwag (India), J Miandad (Pakistan), R Ponting (Australia), S Tendulkar (India)

Wicket keeper

Sangakkara, who spent the first third of his Test career keeping wicket - claiming 178 catches and 20 stumpings before giving up the gloves - also became the fastest player to reach 12,000 Test runs on day one.

12,000 runs

Kumar Sangakkara: Contributions in test and international cricket; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India

BBC 3 January 2015: Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara became the fastest player to reach 12,000 runs in Test cricket - and only the fifth to reach the landmark.

The then 37-year-old achieved the feat in his 224th Test innings, during his side's second Test in New Zealand.

India's Sachin Tendulkar and Australia's Ricky Ponting both needed 247 innings to surpass the mark.

Sangakkara began his innings on 11,995 runs and was given a standing ovation when he became the first Sri Lankan to reach 12,000 by knocking Trent Boult square for two.

The highest scorers in test cricket

Tendulkar (15,921), Ponting (13,378), South African Jacques Kallis (13,289) and India's Rahul Dravid (13,288) are the only four players to have scored more Test runs than Sangakkara.