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Sri
Lankans Stand Tall
Last month
this column posed the question, ‘Just how good is Murali?’ This month we know
the answer, as if there really was going to be any doubt. Statistically, Sri
Lankan leg-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is the number one wicket-taker of all
time. While he failed miserably in the two-Test series against Australia, in
Australia, he returned to Sri Lanka and in the first Test against England, at
Kandy, picked up the six wickets he required to pass Shane Warne’s previous
high. Muralitharan’s 709th victim was Paul Collingwood, a batsman who has
featured as somewhat of a ‘bunny’ for the Sri Lankan in the past.
Needless to say, the Sri Lankans in the crowd, on Murali’s home
ground, went into wild cheering for their much-maligned hero. Terry Jenner,
former Australian leg-spinner and Shane Warne’s long-time coach, was asked his
thoughts on Murali’s record and diplomatically stated he couldn’t figure out how
the Sri Lankan is able to spin the ball both ways with the back of his hand
facing the batsman. For some think he cheats, for others they are amazed at what
is simply a freakish ability to turn the ball.
In the same match, Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara continued his
recent tremendous form with the bat, making 152, the fourth time in recent games
he has passed 150 in an innings.
In fact, Sangakkara’s form since he turned 30 years of age has been
nothing short of sensational. Playing the first Test at Colombo against South
Africa back in July 2006, Sangakkara combined with his captain Mahela
Jayawardene to put on a massive 624 runs for the third wicket. Jayawardene
scored a Sri Lankan record high of 374, the fourth-highest in the history of
Test cricket behind Brian Lara’s 400, Matthew Hayden’s 380, and Brian Lara’s
375. Sangakkara made an impressive 287, still his highest Test score. The Sri
Lankan’s went on to win the match by more than an innings.
He is currently being hailed among the best batsmen in the world and
his recent form gives credence to the plaudits. In mid-2007 he became only the
sixth batsman to make back-to-back double Test hundreds when he plundered 200
and an unbeaten 222 against the admittedly-poor Bangladesh attack in Sri Lanka.
Sangakkara’s efforts equalled those of Don Bradman (Australia), Wally
HaHammond (England), Vinod Kambli (India),
Graeme Smith (South Africa), and Ricky Ponting (Australia).
Mahela
Jayawardene made 165 in that second match and this meant he and Sangakkara had
played in 50 partnerships and had become the most prolific in terms of averages.
Their average of 72.10 when batting together narrowly eclipsed the Matthew
Hayden-Ricky Ponting record of 71.73.
Other
great batting partnerships include the English pair of Len Hutton and Cyril
Washbrook who paired 53 times and averaged 58.00; Bill Lawry and Bob Simpson
(Australia) who were together 64 times and averaged 59.01; Brian Lara and Ramesh
Sarwan of the West Indies who averaged 55.13 from 53 partnerships, and South
Africans Gary Kirsten and Jacques Kallis who partnered 64 times and have
averaged 61.93 runs.
Even more
impressive was the way Sangakkara stood up against the Australians in the
two-Test series Down Under. Although Sri Lanka were easily beaten in the two
matches, Sangakkara could hold his head high, especially in the second Test in
Hobart where he made 57 in the first innings and then a fighting 192 in the
second.
Asked how
he had turned himself into such a prolific run machine, Sangakkara replied,
“It’s a lot to do with mental comfort. It’s easy to look at this and say I’m
batting pretty well, but you never know what the ball will do in the air or off
the track. You have to make sure at training you’ve got your bases covered. When
I go into bat I’m as ready as I can be.” This is an attitude he shares with
Australian opener Matthew Hayden, among others. The former world record holder
for the highest Test score is known to practice, practice and keep on
practicing, not taking his ability or his current form for granted. Sangakkara
is clearly now cast from a similar mould.
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