Kumar Sangakkara became the first batsman to score a triple century against Bangladesh when he hammered 319 on the second day of the second Test in Chittagong on Wednesday. A few more milestones came along the way, as he also became the fastest to reach 11,000 runs in Tests. The innings, his ninth 200-plus score, also drew him level with Brian Lara for the second-most double centuries in Tests, after Don Bradman. Sangakkara spoke to reporters after his epic innings in Chittagong. Here are some excerpts:
Q: Congratulations Sangakkara. You have achieved almost everything a batsman can achieve. What else do you want to achieve?
Kumar Sangakkara: Well, [there are] two ways of looking at it. Personally, yeah, I have achieved quite a bit as a batsman, but from the team’s point of view our aim is to win a lot more Test matches, especially away from home. I think we have a long way to try to do that and climb up the Test rankings. Hopefully, before I finish we will be able to beat some of the big countries in their own backyard.
Q: Did you want 300 badly before coming here?
KS: Yeah, you know you always look at scores as a batsman – 100s, 200s, 300s, and Brian Lara has got 400 – and those are always things you try and chase when you have an opportunity. So, I was very happy to have got into the 300 club at least.
Q: What was in your mind after losing your partners?
KS: That happens in cricket, you’ve just got to try and take advantage of the opportunities that are presented to you. It was getting a bit hard to score at the end because we had nine fielders on the line both on the off-side and the on-side and it was tough to just push singles because I couldn’t rotate the strike. I had to kind of shield the tail so it was a decision that was made for me actually, to try and get after 300 as soon as possible. After that it was just a case to try and score more runs because we had to declare at the end of the day’s play.
Q: We all know you are a big fan of Lara. You crossed him in a number of records; does that make you happy?
KS: I don’t think you are ever really satisfied with things that you do as a cricketer; you always know that there is a bit more that you could have done, a couple more runs here and there. But you are right; you know I grew up watching and idolising Sir Vivian Richards, and then Brian Lara came along and he was magical to watch. So I am pretty happy to have equalled him in some kind of way, but I don’t think I will equal him as a batsman because I think he is on a completely different level to most of the batsman I have seen.
Q: How important is this innings in the context of the game?
K S: Well it’s nice to score runs, but the point is that you have to win the game. We have got the platform. It would have been nice if we could have held on to our catches and them being two down. So the first session tomorrow morning, [we have to] try to make some inroads and try to make the score of the first innings really count.
Q: How did you plan the innings?
KS: Well, it was a case of us getting used to the pace of the wicket. It was kind of a difficult wicket to get used to. Also, the fields were quite defensive, so it was hard to keep rotating the strike as easy as we could. If there had been a bit more pace we could have penetrated the field, but without that it was just a waiting game, and then when I really got set it was a case of trying to dominate. If I had an opportunity to go over the fielder I wanted to do that. If I had an opportunity to rotate strike I would do that. That was the case of continuously trying to score runs.
Q: What is the feeling after surpassing Lara in taking the fewest innings to score 11,000 runs?
KS: I think I have surpassed him in very little, maybe fastest to 11,000 or whatever, but I don’t think I compare myself to him at all. There is no use of comparing myself to him. To me he is beyond reach. I am very happy to score runs the way I do and pretty happy that I reached 11,000 runs.
Q: How have you prepared throughout your career?
KS: I think it’s mostly been a lot of hard work in the nets, trying to learn as much as I can every time I play, not losing my positive intent to score, trying to stay one step ahead of the opposition, so I don’t think there’s a big secret. It’s just a lot of throw downs, lots of batting in the nets, thinking a bit about my own batting, and also the environment that I had in our dressing room. It had a lot of room for improvement as we have always pushed each other really hard, not just in skills but also in fitness and strength levels. That kind of motivation and confidence from the rest of the group has really helped me, and we have had a lot of inspiration from Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya, so was lucky to grow up in that environment.
Q: Have you ever played a better innings?
KS: Well, a really good innings doesn’t necessarily mean the number of runs you have scored. I always go back to my 98 in South Africa in my first ever away tour in Centurion; that’s when I thought I could play Test cricket. Until that time I was not really sure if I could belong and compete, but that innings changed how I looked at myself and really taught me what it takes to be a Test player. I think that innings set the foundation for what has happened since then.
-With New Age input
