Related Links : Bangladesh in Sri Lanka 2007 : Scorecard
Like Muralitharan, Kumar Sangakkara is making most of a lackluster Bangladeshi challenge. Sangakkara figured in a massive partnership of 311 with his Skipper Mahela Jayawardene that got Sri Lanka to a powerful 500 for 4 with a superb run rate of 4.67. Sangakkara got to compile his sixth double hundred which is a back-to-back one against the toothless Bangladeshi bowling. Sri Lanka blasted as many as 460 runs in an entire day’s play which was simply outstanding. They have now created enough time, two full days to win this test at Kandy and make it a 3-0 whitewash.
For the first time in this Test Match, one got to see a full day’s play and Sri Lanka made it count. They did lose their openers in the morning session to the medium pace of Syed Rasel but that brought in the much more confident pair of Sangakkara and Mahela out in the middle. While Tharanga got out cheaply for 12, Vandort perished for 43 from 70, clearly losing his momentum on this third day’s play. The day belonged to Sangakkara and Mahela as they ran the quick singles, dispatched the loose ones to the ropes and just went on and on in their business of scoring runs. The busy partnership saw them put those 311 runs in just around 60 overs! Mahela cracked 165 from 210 balls before becoming Syed Rasel’s third victim of the day. The Skipper’s innings had 15 fours and three sixes.
At Stumps, Kumar Sangakkara is still not out on 222 from 277 balls with 28 fours. At 500 for 4 and with a first innings lead of 369, Sri Lanka might just declare their innings and have Bangladesh batting straightaway in the fourth day morning. With Bangladesh not having the reputation of batting for more than a day, tomorrow could well be the end of the Test Series with Sri Lanka easing to an innings victory. Its the last chance for the Bangladeshis to redeem themselves.