Published: Jan 04, 2015, 06:30 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 04, 2015, 06:30 PM (IST)
Kumar Sangakkara added yet another double century to his repertoire on Sunday against New Zealand; his eleventh which means he is now only one short of equalling Sir Donald Bradman’s record. That Sangakkara displays such majesty even at 37 goes to say a lot about the man, feels Rishad D’Souza.
A double century on even the flattest of pitches in the world is special, because even then it demands high level of concentration and patience. But when a double century comes on a seamer-friendly, green top, the performance naturally deserves a special mention. Kumar Sangakkara on Saturday did just that on a fast bowlers haven at Basin Reserve, Wellington against an attack that is well equipped to exploit such conditions.
Moreover, Sangakkara was witness to a lot of wickets fall at the other end but he remained undeterred. He went on with his job oozing tranquillity amidst utter chaos, he nudged the ball around for singles and put the odd ball away. Slowly but steadily the frequency of boundaries increased.
A near-capacity Basin Reserve crowd on the day, obviously with pre-dominantly New Zealand supporters cheered each time Sangakkara reached a milestone; they clapped when he hit those five runs to become the fastest man to the 12,000-run landmark, they applauded when he got to his hundred and they clapped louder when he got to his 200. It wasn’t just the customary applause to acknowledge a milestone out of plain respect. The sound in the stadium resonated and reflected satisfaction as much as it did respect.
Sangakkara frequently produces the kind of innings, you as a viewer and a cricket fan are compelled to fall in love with. The sheer artistry ought to be appreciated even if it comes against your favourite team. He produces the kind of knocks that are a writers dream, ironically though even the lexicon is often insufficient to describe the majesty.
This is not the first time Sangakkara has treated the world to such a glorious double-ton, it’s the 11th time in just 130 matches. Besides this he even has 27 centuries to his name and boasts an average of 58.92 which eclipses those of other modern day legends such as Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
Age is catching up with Sangakkara, even though one wouldn’t think so looking at him play, but it is and retirement is around the corner. Sanga has even publicly spoken of his desire to retire from all formats post the ICC World Cup 2015, but the Sri Lanka Cricket board has requested him to continue playing Tests for sometime and deep down all of us are hoping for the same.
(Rishad D’Souza, a reporter with CricketCountry, gave up hopes of playing Test cricket after a poor gully-cricket career. He now reports on the sport. You can follow @RishadDsouza on Twitter)
