Sangakkara ton lifts Sri Lanka in 3rd Test

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates, Nov 3 (AFP): Kumar Sangakkara notched his 27th Test hundred to propel Sri Lanka to an imperious 245-2 on the opening day of the third and final cricket Test against Pakistan on Thursday. The 34-year-old stylish left-hander ended the day on 112 -- his second hundred of the series after hitting 211 in the first Test, guiding his team during a 173-run second wicket stand with Tillakaratne Dilshan who made 92. That repair-damaging stand followed the early loss of opener Tharanga Paranavitana (four) who fell off paceman Umar Gul's fifth ball of the match after Sri Lanka decided to bat on a batting-friendly Sharjah stadium pitch. Sangakkara, who topscored with 78 during Sri Lanka's nine wicket defeat in the second Test in Dubai, also completed 9,000 Test runs when he reached 28, hitting a crisp boundary off paceman Junaid Khan. The former Sri Lankan captain is the 11th batsman in the world and only the second Sri Lankan behind Mahela Jayawardene (9895 runs) to cross 9,000 or more in all Test cricket. He jumped out of his crease to lift left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman for his second six to reach the three-figure mark -- his seventh against Pakistan -- to show why he is currently regarded as the top batsmen in the world. Dilshan, who had 38 runs in the last four innings, realised he belonged to the top of the order as he shrugged away the poor form, hitting 12 boundaries and a six during his 168-ball knock. Pakistan lead the series 1-0 after winning the second Test in Dubai by nine wickets. The first Test in Abu Dhabi ended in a draw. SCOREBOARD Sri Lanka 1st innings: T Paranavitana c Younisb Gul 4 T Dilshan c Younis b Ajmal 92 K Sangakkara not out 112 M Jayawardene not out 32 Extras: (lb3, nb2) 5 Total: (for two wkts) 245