Kumar Sangakkara | A School of Exotic Driving

Everyone talks about Lara’s flamboyance, Ganguly’s dominance, Cook’s class, Haydos’ power; Sangakkara is one name that gets missed in the list of all-time great left-handed batsmen and should be the one more talked about.

Trust me, tune into any of his videos, he would be playing one of the most graceful cover drives you could ever see. It is like a Michelin Star Chef serving your favorite dish to you; set on your favorite landscape with finesse written all over it.

Kumar Sangakkara is the best southpaw to have graced this game of Red Ball Cricket.

Well, most people say that he was a flat-track bully; you are incorrect, mate! I mean he did some supernatural stuff at home but his numbers outside the home are quite astonishing too.

It was 2006, I guess my boards were on. Mahela & Kumar added 624 against a South African attack boasting Dale Steyn and Mkhaya Ntini and made them plead. Sanga contributed 287 and did his bit to probably what Dravid did to Laxman at Eden’s.

Kumar Sangakkara
Overall 134 Tests | 12,400 Runs | Average 57.40 | 38 Tons & 52 Fifties
At Home 74 Tests | 6,830 Runs | Average 60.44 | 22 Tons & 25 Fifties

Let us do a quick comparative analysis of the all-time greats!

Home stats (at least 5.5k home runs)
Ponting averages 57, Tendulkar 53, Jayewardene 60, Kallis 57, Sanga 61, Lara & Chanderpaul 59 each, and Dravid 52.

Sanga milked the oppositions at home – This we all know but if you look at away stats (at least 5.5k away runs) Tendulkar averages 55, Sanga 54, Kallis 54, Dravid 53 and Younis 51. He is just marginally behind Tendulkar and above Dravid in away games – That’s something ground-breaking.

Let us see the numbers in England against the Brits!
Sanga averages 41 in 11 games (not bad), Tendulkar 55 in 17 games, and  Dravid averages 69 in 13 games.

Against Australia in Australia;
Sanga averages 61, Tendulkar 53, and Dravid averages 42.

Against South Africa  in South Africa;
Sanga struggled big time and averaged 36, Tendulkar (GOD) 47 and Dravid averages merely 30(his prime weakness)

Even if you see the Top 13 Test Run Getters of all time; people who have clocked 10k Test runs; Sanga tops the charts with the highest overall average of 57.

Williamson is Good. Bell was Great. Kohli is at par with Sangakkara in terms of being the greatest

Straight head, with shoulders moving towards the ball, knees aptly bent to reach to full length, balanced body, coupled with a controlled bat swing; makes it a sight to remember.

Trust me, it is one of the toughest shots to play in the book. I cannot even hit through off, forget about driving through the covers. It is a dream to even hit a shot through covers for me, a gully Cricketer.

It was 2012; when I started to notice his details. That year belonged to him. Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2012 | ICC Test Cricketer of the Year 2012 |ICC Cricketer of the Year 2012 and whatnot.

Back to back 4 tons in 2015 WC and now, at 42; he is still making a mockery of English bowlers in the County Cricket. Chuck all this numbers stuff as I say, numbers do not do proper justice to a player. It is the impact on the team and fans that matters. Let us talk about the way he drives through the covers.

Sanga’s drives resonate with the sound of a Degh. When the lid is removed and Biryani is being pulled out layer by layer with the ladle; giving a sense of hysteria.

The audacity with which he’s driven the likes of Andersons, Broads, and Johnsons is simply divine.

He is an institution when it comes to off drives. When he puts the blade on the cherry, the world seems a lot better place! It appears as if Prateek Kuhad is playing his songs and giving a sense of calmness to the broken souls in these COVID times. There is no cure yet, but as Cricket fans, Kumar Sangakkara’s madness with his willow totally syncs with our pillows; providing us a sense of peace.

Good night, folks! Enjoy his contribution, let us all hail the greatest and ironically the most under-rated legend of this game, and dream about his beautiful sketches drafted across the covers region.

Stats Credit: Statsguru by ESPNCricinfo
Image Credit: Internet (too bad I can’t design. Need to learn fast)

Transformers: Raw Boys to Resilient Men(Under-26)

The piece of post contains the list of batsmen who have evolved from brash and talented bunch of folks to responsive and deliverable commodities in the cricketing household. Watch for these guys in 2015 (in all formats of the game) as they get transformed to real men,who now possess the ability to read the game and turn it single handedly through their sheer passion and commitment.

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1. Kane Williamson [24 years 120 days]
   New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson is one of the brightest sparks in the game today, and it should only be a matter of time before Williamson goes on to engrave his name among the likes of kiwi greats -Richard Hadlee and Martin Crowe.He has scored over 2600 runs from 34 Tests at a scintillating average over 40 .Without any elementary doubts,Kane is one of the complete players of modern day era. He already has made his way into the list of Top 10 New Zealanders to score most Test centuries for his country.With 7 centuries, he is next only to Sir Donald Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar and Sir Gary Sobers as a batsmen with most 100+ scores before turning 24.

   Williamson kick started his Test career by scoring 131 in his maiden Test innings against India in 2010 to become only the eighth New Zealander to score a century on his Test début. Later in 2012, he went on to play a match-saving unbeaten 102 in the fourth innings against the mighty Proteas.In the recent times after taking on the manhood in 2014,in his second tour of the West Indies in June 2014;Williamson finished as the top run-getter with 413 runs, including two hundreds that contributed to a historic series win for the kiwis.

   The innings of 192 against Pakistan is by far his best knock that reflects his character.Take a bow for that ! Williamson’s batting has reassured the team management, here’s a batsman who’s not just good enough in one format, but an asset who can bat classily at the No 3 position across formats.Kane averages over 40 in both Tests and ODIs.

   Williamson can well be compared to Virat Kohli, in terms of pacing his innings .He times the ball to perfection and is effortless in finding gaps. Williamson is rock solid and calm in everything . He not only defends sublimely but attacks with absolute control as well. His fastest CLT20 ton (of just 49 balls)playing for Northern Knights is the prime example of his adaptability,embracing the change of format.

   He is the complete man and the most apt batsman to endorse Raymond clothing.

   

   Kane Williamson – A legend in making.

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2. Steven Smith[25 years 187 days]
   Capable of taking the attack to the opposition, never say die spirit and giving more than 100%in every game that’s what Steven Smith is all about.Smith is currently one of the finest fielder out there and the most innovative batsman as well.He came into limelight in the first innings of the last Test of the 2013 Ashes Series at The Oval,where he scored his maiden hundred,reaching the total in style by hitting a six off a spinner.Then in 2013 at Mohali, he demonstrated his true grit by absorbing the pressure and delivering at a crucial stage.Smith’s 92 was a message to the world that he is a dark horse who can take on the bowlers outside the sub-continent as well.

   Currently,he is proving to be a captain’s nightmare.After his back to back match winning knocks against the Proteas this is what ABD had to say-“You’re going to have to work hard for your wickets, and if you get a busy cricketer at the wicket it makes it very difficult for you to control the innings, to keep your rhythm and just to pace it a little bit better. He makes it really difficult for us in doing that “In the T20 format he is the go-to man for Rajasthan Royals.Smith is in such impressive touch across all formats that he should enter the Test series against India as Australia’s most in-form batsman.He has provided an example of how to grasp technical and mental maturity.Smith at the moment is the potential successor of Michael Clarke.

   

   Steven Smith- Future of Australian cricket.

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   Gary Ballance[25 years 14 days]

   His back to back tons at Lord’s and Rosebowl has not only made him earn the emerging cricketer of the year award but he has made him worthy enough to
   fill Trott’s shoes with extreme efficiency. The heavy built Zimbabwean born southpaw is only the third English player to have scored hundreds in his first two
   Lord’s Tests, after Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott. He is an exception catcher as well.He understands the importance of his wicket and the that’s clearly evident from the fact that he likes to spend time on the crease and tries to capitalise as much as he can. Currently Gary averages 61 from his 8 Tests. Watch out people. Be scared ! Very very scared of Gazza in the years in come.

   

   Gary Ballance- Lord of the Tests

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   Quinton De Kock [21 years 35 days]

   This boy has certainly come of age over the past few months.
   At 20,De Cock became the first Batsman in the ODIs to hit 3 centuries from 3 matches in the series.What made it more special was that De Kock had managed a 100% conversion rate from his fifties to hundreds;that showed no sign of ending, even after he turned 21.Quinny is equally a handy customer with the gloves as well.He is the fastest to get 50 dismissals in ODIs and 6 dismissals in a game.Also,he holds the honour of being the fastest to score 1000 runs in ODIs.

   “He plays a bit more fearlessly, takes on the bowling upfront and then settles in and gets the big runs. Quinny is a fearless cricketer but at the same time he is quite intelligent with the way he goes about his business. But he probably doesn’t think about the game as much as the other guys which is a positive.The way Quinny plays has been very refreshing for us. He can obliterate any bowling attack.
   He is going to be a superstar”  -Amla on Kock.

   

   Quinton De Kock- The mini dynamo

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   Ahmed Shehzad [23 years 13 days]
   The Kohli look alike is held in high regard in his country and is the most promising youngster out of the lot.Currently he averages 48 and 34 in Tests and ODIs respectively. Shehzad was exceptional with the bat against the mighty Ozies in UAE in 2014. His knock of 176 was by far his most composed innings. He has a lot to offer to the green caps.The gritty stroke maker is hopeful in ending his nation’s quest for a quality batsmen.

   

   Ahmed Shehzad – The Green Sparta