Kohli’s Greatness lauded by Sangakkara

Rohit Pawar, in Cricket Age, 12 February 2019, where the title is “Kohli Above Peers, Destined for Greatness – Kumar Sangakkara”

India captain Virat Kohli is well ahead of his contemporaries and destined for greatness, former Sri Lankan batting stalwart Kumar Sangakkara has said. Kohli capped a memorable 2018 by becoming the first to win the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) cricketer, Test and one-day international (ODI) player of the year awards last month. Considered part of the elite group also featuring Kiwi Kane Williamson, Australian Steve Smith and England’s Joe Root, Kohli has surged ahead after a stupendous 2018 and is currently the top ranked Test as well as one-day batsman.

Rex in Q and A with Michael Hussey

Rex Clementine, in Island, 7 February 2019, with the title “Murali is Mr Cricket –Mike Hussey”

No batsman in Test cricket played Sri Lanka better than Australia’s Mike Hussey. Numbers prove it. His average of 110 against Sri Lankan attacks is better than that of Brian Lara (86), Virat Kohli (77), Sunil Gavaskar (66), A.B. de Villiers (62) and Sachin Tendulkar (60). Hussey’s average against Sri Lanka is the best by any Test cricketer.

 Rival players at one point, Muttiah Muralitharan and Mike Hussey went onto become great friends when they were team mates at Chennai Super Kings.

The Island caught up with the man who was nicknamed Mr. Cricket for his deep knowledge about the game. In this interview, Hussey opens up on his battles against Murali, his close relationship with the man who was once his opponent and later a team-mate. Dismissing Kumar Sangakkara in a Test match and the future of Australian cricket and lots more. Here are the excerpts.

From Basin Reserve to Aravinda, Sanga and A Homily

Rex Clementine, in Island, 16 December 2018, where the title reads “Two different Basin Reserve classics”

The Basin Reserve where the current Test match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand is in progress remains a special place for Sri Lankans in many ways. Generally the Sri Lankans have done well at this picturesque venue. The Basin as they call it is literally one of Wellington’s busiest roundabouts. It is the two mountains – Mount Cook and Mount Victoria in the backdrop that add to the beauty of this ground in New Zealand’s north island.

The first double hundred by a Sri Lankan overseas was scored at the Basin and the last double hundred by a Sri Lankan was also scored at the Basin. In fact after Kumar Sangakkara’s sensational effort in 2015, no Sri Lankan has scored a double hundred – home or away. Aravinda de Silva was the first Sri Lankan to score a double hundred overseas in 1991.

Arjuna Ranatunga once told us that there won’t be another Aravinda for another 50 years. When we asked him why, he told us this story. “I was batting with Aravinda at the Basin and was struggling to put bat to ball as there was quite a bit of seam movement. But Aravinda had no such issues and he was absolutely hitting everything from the middle of the bat. During the tea break, I took Aravinda’s bat and checked whether his was wider than that  of mine. He was making it look so easy,” Ranatunga said.

Adieu Rangana. Fare Thee Well say a Range of Cricketing Connoisseurs

Andrew Fidel Fernando …. assembling Evaluations of Rangana Herath on his Retirement for ESPNcricinfo

Sanga to star in STAR SPORTS Commentary Team

Abhisek Patil in CRICKET AGE, April 2018 where the title is “Kumar Sangakkara Joins Star Sports India Commentary Team

Sri Lankan Legend Kumar Sangakkara has joined the illustrious Commentary team of Star Sports. The channel has just yesterday secured the Television Rights of BCCI’s Home bilateral series for next five years, in a whopping 6138.1 Crore bid. The channel has already secured media rights for the Lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL).

Cricketers snapped Extraordinary

Rangaiyaa! Rangaaiyya! Budu Ammo! Herath raised aloft after securing a match fo Sr Lanka … or so one can imagine

Reflections on Sri Lanka’s Topsy-Turvy Journey in Cricket — Mark Nicholas

Mark Nicholas in ESPNcricinfo, 22 October 2018, where the title runs “Sri Lanka’s cricket legacy is glorious, but what does the future hold?”

The first two Sri Lankan cricketers to catch this observer’s eye were Roy Dias and Duleep Mendis. Dias, slim and elegant at the crease, played the game in beautifully straight lines and had a hand in important moments during Sri Lanka’s early days at the top table, most especially against Pakistan and India. Mendis was a bull of a fellow on first look but the most genial of cricketers, whose explosive strokeplay at Lord’s in 1984 won him many a heart. It was for the Indians, however, that he reserved his very best cricket, making hundreds in both innings of the 1982 Madras Test and then leading his country to a famous series win in 1985 with a match-saving hundred in the final Test at the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy. It is close to impossible to describe how much this meant to his people. It was more than a victory for cricketers; it was a victory for character and for relevance – a precursor to the days when Arjuna Ranatunga would bow before no one in the pursuit of his country’s place in the world order.