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Sangakkara reaches one day landmark

December 05, 2014 00:00:00


HAMBANTOTA, Dec 4 (AFP): Kumar Sangakkara became only the fourth batsman in history to surpass 13,000 one-day runs as Sri Lanka scored 242-8 off 35 overs in a rain-curtailed match against England in Hambantota Wednesday.

The 37-year-old left-hander reached the landmark when he took a single off Chris Woakes to move to 13 and celebrated by top-scoring with 63 in the innings.

Lahiru Thirimanne hit an unbeaten 62 off 47 balls in a match that was reduced to 35-overs-a-side when heavy rain stopped the game after just two overs had been bowled.

The hosts, who won the toss and elected to bat, were reduced to 31-3 by the sixth over before Sangakkara and skipper Angelo Mathews (37) retrieved the situation by adding 87 for the fourth wicket.

Sri Lanka plundered 62 runs in the last five overs to set England a tough target. The hosts lead 2-0 in the seven-match series.

Sangakkara now lies behind three retired batsmen in the all-time list led by Sachin Tendulkar of India, who made 18,426 runs in 463 ODI matches.

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has 13,704 runs in 375 ODI matches and Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka has 13,430 runs in 445 games.

Sangakkara, who made his international debut in 2000, is also just 12 runs short of completing 12,000 Test runs. He has made 11,988 runs in 128 Tests.


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