Kumar Sangakkara scored the third double hundred of his career as Sri Lanka reached 395-5 at lunch in the second and final test against South Africa.
Sangakkara, who started the day on 157 not out having come to the crease in the first over of the match, moved along briskly on the second morning to finish on 218 from 337 balls.
The 26-year-old, playing as a specialist wicketkeeper in this match, survived chances on 57 and 177 during an eight-hour knock that included 28 fours and one six.
Thilan Samaraweera (21) provided solid support during a 76-run fifth wicket stand before being caught on the long-leg fence six minutes before lunch off a top-edged hook.
South Africa broke through in the first half hour with the second new ball as Chaminda Vaas (10), a nightwatchman, edged a Shaun Pollock delivery to Martin van Jaarsveld at first slip.
Pollock also had an opportunity to dismiss Sangakkara, on 177 at the time, when the left-hander pushed back a difficult low one-handed chance that Pollock was unable to hang on to.
Pollock, South Africa's most threatening bowler, finished with two for 63 from 22 overs.
Sri Lanka's star spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who pulled out of the match because of intense shoulder pain, will fly to Melbourne on Thursday night for shoulder surgery.
Muralitharan, suffering from general wear and tear plus a build up of fluid around a nerve, is set to miss the five-match one-day series that follows this second test.
"He will have to undergo surgery," Sri Lanka Cricket spokesman Ray Illangakoon said. "But at this stage we don't know how serious it would be. An Australian doctor will see him on Saturday."
The 32-year-old who holds the world Test bowling record of 532 wickets, struggled to get his side the breakthroughs expected of him in last week's opening Test against South Africa in Galle.
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
RSS