The recent quarter-final between South Africa and Sri Lanka saw two of cricket’s finest ever batting talents retire from the game. Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene both have mesmerised people throughout their career, making the game look all too easy, Sangakkara especially as of late. Having hit four consecutive centuries in the group stages, it was a bit anti-climactic when he hit the ball down David Miller’s throat as he was the ninth man out in an innings that reflected none of the success Sri Lanka had had during the group stage, including the side’s scoring 300 or more in their last four games.
Hitting ton after ton isn’t uncommon for Sangakkara, who finishes his ODI career with an astonishing 25 hundreds, placing him fourth on the all-time ODI list. These centuries have been a mixture of precise hitting, innovative shot selection and superb placement coming in an even wider variety of match scenarios. He had an all-round game that was suited to everything. He could grind out runs or be flamboyant and take the fight to the bowlers.
Sri Lanka vs South Africa, 1st ODI, 20th July 2013, Colombo
A hundred that sticks in my mind was his highest one ever, 169 against South Africa in Colombo, in which Kumar showed his all-round ability with the bat. He came to the crease at number three with his side 23-1 and the South African bowlers firing. He played with great patience early on, rotating the strike and keeping the runs ticking over gradually. He reached his 50 off 67 balls and looked progressively more confident. He then proceeded to play more shots and he brought up the hundred in 103 balls, including four sixes. He then found another a gear and seriously went to town on the now rather worried bowling attack. Sangakkara finished the innings 169 not out off 137 balls, meaning the last 69 runs came off 34 balls, at a strike rate of over 200. This showed all the necessary skills of a top order ODI batsman and how playing yourself in can lead to big things later on in the innings.
Colombo 2013 was a masterpiece by anyone’s standards, but more recently, Sangakkara hit his fastest ODI hundred against a spirited Bangladesh side. It took just 73 balls to bring up his 22nd ton in the white ball game. In partnership with Tilakaratne Dilshan, both men put on over 200 runs to secure the Group A match at this year’s Cricket World Cup. Sangakkara batted with pure aggression, smashing twelve fours and one six in a blistering knock that emphasised why he is one of the all-time greats of the game.
The final innings that stands out to me wasn’t a hundred, but with the destructive forces shown, it might as well have been. The 1st ODI in Rajkot, India and batting first the Indians had managed to put on 414 for 7 from their allotted overs. Virender Sehwag, the tormentor in chief for Sri Lanka had shown his usual flair and hit a big hundred in the process. Dilshan did his own bit, hitting 160, but the way that he set up the innings left the stage set for Sangakkara to play a belter. 90 runs he hit, off just 42 balls, scorching boundary after boundary. He played his textbook lofted-on-drive to perfection, milking the Indian bowling around the park. He eventually hauled out to Jadeja at long-off and India held on to win by three runs in the end, leaving Sangakkara’s knock in vain, yet still this knock will be imprinted on people’s minds for a long time to come.
These are just three of many special One Day innings Kumar Sangakkara has played over the years; others will remember him for different reasons, such as his agile wicket-keeping ability or his determination when in the field and even his willingness to share things with the media. Although he is retiring from international cricket, Sangakkara has recently announced he is staying with Surrey County Cricket Club for the 2015 English season, so hopefully there will be more fireworks to come for fans around the world.
