Kumar Sangakkara pushes finely-balanced Test over Sri Lanka-wards
Things were so well-poised overnight. Sri Lanka had started their second innings really well, but both openers were out meaning their two best batsmen were at the crease. If England had managed to nick them out, they’d have been odds-on favourites.
But being the best batsmen in your team tends to mean that you’re pretty competent at waving the bat around. Jayawardene eventually went for 65, but Kumar Sangakkara’s just immaculate right now.
This was the fourth Test in a row that the cheeky looking ex-wicketkeeper had passed 150 and the seventh time he’s hit a hundred in the 14 innings since he put his wicketkeeping gloves in his special one-day international bag - four of those hundreds were not outs too.
He’s at the point now where the opposition have to come up with a way of dismissing him before they can even think about winning a Test, let alone a series. He’s Shivnarine Chanderpaul only he plays in a good team.
England’s best chance of getting Sangakkara out is to make his replacement behind the stumps, Prasanna Jayawardene, look dreadful, forcing Sangakkara to return to that position. It’s not the BEST plan ever, we’ll admit.
Sri Lanka v England, day four of the first Test at Kandy
Sri Lanka 188 all out (Kumar Sangakkara 92, Prasanna Jayawardene 51, Matthew Hoggard 4-29, Monty Panesar 3-46)
England 281 (Ian Bell 83, Muttiah Muralitharan 6-55)
Sri Lanka 442-8 declared (Kumar Sangakkara 152, Benevolent Uncle Sanath 78, Mahela Jayawardene 65, Money Panesar 3-132)
England 9-1
Matthey Hoggard says nobody’s a dead cert for the England team. We’d dispute that. Matthew Hoggard’s a dead cert, surely. Today he took four top order wickets for just 29 runs and it’s like he’s never been away.