Kumar Sangakkara was the backbone of Sri Lankan cricket for nearly 15 years. An elegant stroke player, Sangakkara represented the island nation in nearly 600 international matches. He is one of the few batters to have scored more than 10000 runs in both Tests and ODIs.
The southpaw made his Test debut in 2000 and went on to amass 12,400 runs in 134 matches – the sixth-highest ever. The former Sri Lankan captain also has 38 centuries, 11 double centuries and 52 fifties to his credit. As the legendary cricketer celebrates the anniversary of his Test retirement, let’s take a look at his top three performances in Test cricket.
Here are Kumar Sangakkara’s top 3 performances in Tests
3. 156*(192) vs NZ. Wellington, 2006
Kumar Sangakkara played a warrior in the first innings of the second Test against New Zealand in the 2006 series. When the rest of his colleagues struggled to find runs, the southpaw amassed 156 off 192 balls to help his team reach 268. The Lankan bowlers did a fantastic job to restrict the Kiwi batters to 130. In the second innings, the Lankan batters stepped up and added 365 more runs to their tally. Chasing a mammoth target of 504 runs, Balk Caps were bowled out for 286 runs and the visitors won by a margin of 217 runs.
2. 319(482) vs BAN, Chittagong, 2014
Another one-man show from Sangakkara in the first innings of the second Test against Bangladesh in the 2014 series. Batting at No. 3, the Lankan great racked up a humongous 319 runs from 482 balls. In response to Sri Lanka’s 587, Bangladesh fought hard and amassed 426. The visitors scored 305 before declaring the second innings and set a massive target of 467. The match, however, ended in a draw as the Lankan bowlers failed to dismiss the hosts.
1. 230(327) vs PAK, Lahore, 2002
In response to Pakistan’s first-innings score of 234, Sri Lanka accumulated 528 in the first innings of the Asian Test Championship final. Sangakkara led the charge with 230 off 327 balls, an innings that was packed with 33 fours and 3 sixes. Pakistan could score only 325 and a target of 32 was set for the visitors. The Lankan batters crossed the finish line with the loss of two wickets.
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