Sangakkara stands in India’s way
3rd Test • India 4 wickets away to head the Test ranking as Sri Lanka post 274 on day four • Lankan captain notched up 21st hundred
MUMBAI, Dec 5: India were on the threshold of becoming the number one team in Test rankings as they closed in on an emphatic victory in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka despite captain Kumar Sangakkara’s gritty unbeaten century on Saturday.
After conceding a mammoth 333-run first innings lead, the visitors were struggling at 274 for six at close on the penultimate day which was marked by Sangakkara’s resilient unbeaten 133 under immense pressure.
The Lankans are still trailing by 59 runs at the end of the day and will have to bat out of their skins to achieve the near-impossible task of saving the game on a last-day Brabourne track which was expected to assist the bowlers.
The Indians, on the other hand, will look to wrap up the remaining four wickets quickly on Sunday and clinch the three-match Test series with a 2-0 margin.
Sangakkara and Nuwan Kulasekara (9) were at the crease at stumps on an absorbing fourth day’s play which saw a keen contest between the bat and the ball.
The Sri Lankan captain Sangakkara notched up his 21st Test century, his maiden one in India, to anchor the innings brilliantly but none of the other top order batsmen could stitch a substantial partnership with him to save the visitors.
Sri Lanka’s hopes of staving off defeat entirely rest on Sangakkara who has to bat out the entire day alongwith the tailenders or take a big enough lead which will take the game out of India’s grasp. THE SENTINEL
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