Kumar Sangakkara – an ornament to the game of cricket

Sangakkara is a tough character. He will do whatever he can to upset a rival.

 

By Nishad Pai Vaidya

 

While there is a celebratory buzz around Sri Lanka, one can be fairly certain that Kumar Sangakkara will treat Friday’s Test against Australia at the Sinhalese Sports Club as just another Test. It will be business as usual for Sangakkara in his 100^th Test appearance – a landmark achieved by just four other Lankans.

 

There is something special and rare about the man. When he walks out to bat, one can sense an aura of calm around him. Even in high-pressure situations, there isn’t the slightest change in his expression. In his case, the face is not the index of the mind. And that makes it all the more difficult for rival teams.

 

Sangakkara at the crease is a master craftsman. The cover drives and the straight drives are essayed with elegance and minimal power, making it seem that batting in international cricket is easy. Against the fast bowlers, he makes it look as if he has all the time in the world to play them wherever he wants. The drives through the off side and the flicks through leg are played with minimal power and with authority. When the spinners come on, he uses his nimble footwork to get to the pitch of the ball, which puts instant pressure on the bowlers. He also has the ability to play the ball very late as he rocks back and just waits for the ball.

 

It isn’t just his batting that brings value to the side; his sharp cricketing brain and tactical thinking is one of the finest in the game. His wicket-keeping is very clean and reliable. Although he has given up the gloves in Test cricket, he still remains Sri Lanka’s stumper in the shorter versions. But by allowing Prasanna Jayawardene to take on the mantle in Tests, he has allowed himself the luxury of concentrating on his batting.

 

Here are his stats since he gave up the ‘keeping gloves in 2006 (during South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka):

 

M	Runs	Avge	100s	Highest
39	4116	69.76	16	287

 

Sixteen of his 25 Test hundreds have come since giving up wicket-keeping in 2006 and his batting average has gone 14 notches higher compared to his career average of 55.66. His Test best of 287 came in the very first match after making the tough call.

 

It is a known fact that Sri Lanka doesn’t play too many Test matches overseas which is why most of their batsmen have scored majority of their hundreds at home. But if one looks at the stats, one would notice that Sangakkara is clearly Sri Lanka’s best batsman away from home.

 

Here are the stats of the Sri Lankan greats on overseas soil (qualification 90+ career Tests):

 

Player	M	Runs	Avge	100s	Highest
Mahela Jayawardena	52	3560	40.45	9	275
Kumar Sangakkara	42	3500	48.61	9	270
Aravinda de Silva	49	3071	36.13	9	267
Sanath Jayasuriya	48	2859	35.74	5	253
Marvan Atapattu	42	2831	39.32	8	249
Arjuna Ranatunga	45	2254	30.88	0	90

 

Sangakkara has scored nine hundreds in fewer matches than Jayawardena and Atapattu. The next best average to his 48.61 is Jayawardena’s 40.45. What this tells us is that he is a quick leaner and adapts well to varying conditions.

 

Sangakkara is a tough character. He will do whatever he can to upset a rival, without getting obnoxious or objectionable. Cricket fans will recall his mental warfare with Shaun Pollock in the crucial group match during the 2003 World Cup. At times, he appeals when there is no case but makes it look so convincing that the umpires have given the decision Sri Lanka’s way.

 

A very articulate person, Sangakkara’s MCC Spirit of Cricket Speech attracted attention for the wrong reasons, but it was a brilliant account of a country’s love for the game and its rise through tough times. It was a speech that radiated emotion, passion and patriotism. He ended the speech with the immortal words, “With me are all my people. I am Tamil, Sinhalese, Muslim and Burgher. I am a Buddhist, a Hindu, a follower of Islam and Christianity. I am today, and always, proudly Sri Lankan.”

 

Sangakkara is not just an ornament for Sri Lanka; he is, indeed, an ornament to the game itself.

 

(Nishad Pai Vaidya, a 21-year-old law student, is a club and college-level cricketer. His teachers always complain, “He knows the stats and facts of cricket more than the subjects we teach him.”)

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