Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara’s entry into Sri Lankan cricket was certainly not pre-destined by any stretch of one’s imagination. He was more or less a non-factor in the domestic cricket scene in Sri Lanka but a swashbuckling innings of 156 not out for Sri Lanka ‘A’ in a 50 over encounter against the visiting Zimbabwe ‘A’ team in May of 2000 propelled him to be in contention for a spot in the national team for a home Tri-series featuring South Africa and Pakistan. In just his second international match against South Africa, Sangakkara played a match winning innings of 85 and won the man of the ... Read Full Story

Sri Lanka’s top cricketers had a shot at Bollywood stardom when they were filmed for an upcoming movie that features some of the best players in the world. Scenes for “Victory,” a story of a small town boy who dreams of playing cricket for India, were shot in Colombo last week, with actor Harman Baweja playing against Sri Lanka’s national team. Sri Lankan stars Kumar Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan and Sanath Jayasuriya were among those filmed at one of Colombo’s oldest cricket venues, the Oval. Also starring in the 10-million-dollar movie will be the Indian team, plus Australian paceman Brett Lee, England bowlers Sajid Mahmood ... Read Full Story

Indian pace sensation Ishant Sharma and swing bowler Praveen Kumar have combined for eight wickets to dismiss Sri Lanka for a measly 179 in the Commonwealth Bank tri-series clash at Bellerive Oval on Tuesday. Kumar (4-31 from 10 overs) and Sharma (4-41 from 10 overs) starred with the ball as Sri Lanka's middle order crumbled after a promising start. After losing the toss and being sent in to bat, Sri Lanka was coasting at 1-72 in the 15th over on the back of a 57-run stand between Sanath Jayasuriya (34) and Kumar Sangakkara (33). But the loss of 6-21 on the back of some ... Read Full Story

They may have received a rare scare on day four, but in the end the Australians cantered to Test victory number 14 in succession on Tuesday as Sri Lanka's hopes of pulling off a record run chase on the final day of the second Test in Hobart evaporated in just one session. After enjoying their best day of a lop-sided series on day four, when they cruised to 3-247 in pursuit of a record fourth-innings total of 507, Sri Lanka collapsed on the final day losing six wickets in the first session before being bowled out for 410 in the third over after lunch. ... Read Full Story

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, April 28, 2007 (AFP) - Adam Gilchrist lived up to his billing as the most dangerous batsman in the one-day game with a record 149 as Australia won an unprecendented third straight World Cup final on Saturday in a match which ended in complete farce. Australia triumphed by 53 runs over Sri Lanka on the Duckworth/Lewis method at Kensington Oval in a game ruined as a spectacle by the weather and overshadowed by confusion at the end. Gilchrist's innings, the highest in a final surpassing the 140 not out made by Australia captain Ricky Ponting against India in Johannesburg four years ago, ... Read Full Story