How good is Sanga?

[Ruckus]

@CWB, I said largely a coincidence. I basically agree with what you're saying, but I'd be assuming a good deal of the improvement is down to the other things rather than the absence of wicket keeping. Plenty of top players have had similar periods in their careers where they peak as batsmen and average x amount more than previously...definitely not unheard of.

[Himannv]

My Fondest Memory of Sangakkara

I remember a time, some years back, when I was having an exceptionally vivid dream. Sri Lanka were playing in some random final of epic proportions. The wicketkeeper batsman strides out to the middle and starts going after the bowling with aplomb and finesse, both flaying and carving out the opposition's attack with equal measure.

Mesmerized at how devastating he was, I drooled excitedly on my pillow and replayed the shots he played in my head in ultra-slow-mo. That brutal cut and mouthwatering drive was a sight to behold. The slash of his blade was akin to a samurai beheading a fly, with the sort of precision and purpose that only one who beheads flies on a daily basis could achieve.

149 blistering runs off only 104 deliveries with 13 dashing fours and 8 towering sixes. What an innings to set up an immense win for his team.

The dream changed shape and somehow the clarity improved to a point where I could see even flecks of dust in the air. I frowned in my sleep as I realized something was wrong with the picture. Sanga was decked in yellow and pointing to half a squash ball in his glove which apparently made him Superman.

I woke up breathless and glared incredulously at the bedroom wall. Catching sight of the clock, I realized it was afternoon and I had overslept as usual. Groaning inwardly at the fading memories of my dream, I dragged myself out of bed and checked out the empty fridge in vague hope that there might be something in there which could clear my head of all the cobwebs. Giving up on that thought I flopped down on the couch and flipped on the TV.

Sri Lanka vs India and Sanga was at the crease. My sleep-filled eyes widened in surprise and I stared at the LED screen in front of me transfixed as Ashish Nehra sprinted energetically to the crease, twisted his body in a mysterious manner and bowled short left-arm rubbish. Sanga goes for the epic pull shot and I grip the remote in my hand tightly. The ball pops up tamely in the air and Zaheer Khan makes the easy catch at mid-on look like an epic match-winning dive of glory. 17 off 38, way to go Sanga!!



Note that some aspects of this story are satirical and are hence to be taken with a pinch of salt, a shot of tequila and a pickled lime.

[ImpatientLime]

Very solid and consistent. One of the few 'name' full backs in the world that can actually defend.

[Spark]

Originally Posted by Himannv

My Fondest Memory of Sangakkara

I remember a time, some years back, when I was having an exceptionally vivid dream. Sri Lanka were playing in some random final of epic proportions. The wicketkeeper batsman strides out to the middle and starts going after the bowling with aplomb and finesse, both flaying and carving out the opposition's attack with equal measure.

Mesmerized at how devastating he was, I drooled excitedly on my pillow and replayed the shots he played in my head in ultra-slow-mo. That brutal cut and mouthwatering drive was a sight to behold. The slash of his blade was akin to a samurai beheading a fly, with the sort of precision and purpose that only one who beheads flies on a daily basis could achieve.

149 blistering runs off only 104 deliveries with 13 dashing fours and 8 towering sixes. What an innings to set up an immense win for his team.

The dream changed shape and somehow the clarity improved to a point where I could see even flecks of dust in the air. I frowned in my sleep as I realized something was wrong with the picture. Sanga was decked in yellow and pointing to half a squash ball in his glove which apparently made him Superman.

I woke up breathless and glared incredulously at the bedroom wall. Catching sight of the clock, I realized it was afternoon and I had overslept as usual. Groaning inwardly at the fading memories of my dream, I dragged myself out of bed and checked out the empty fridge in vague hope that there might be something in there which could clear my head of all the cobwebs. Giving up on that thought I flopped down on the couch and flipped on the TV.

Sri Lanka vs India and Sanga was at the crease. My sleep-filled eyes widened in surprise and I stared at the LED screen in front of me transfixed as Ashish Nehra sprinted energetically to the crease, twisted his body in a mysterious manner and bowled short left-arm rubbish. Sanga goes for the epic pull shot and I grip the remote in my hand tightly. The ball pops up tamely in the air and Zaheer Khan makes the easy catch at mid-on look like an epic match-winning dive of glory. 17 off 38, way to go Sanga!!



Note that some aspects of this story are satirical and are hence to be taken with a pinch of salt, a shot of tequila and a pickled lime.

[Flem274*]

Originally Posted by Himannv

My Fondest Memory of Sangakkara

I remember a time, some years back, when I was having an exceptionally vivid dream. Sri Lanka were playing in some random final of epic proportions. The wicketkeeper batsman strides out to the middle and starts going after the bowling with aplomb and finesse, both flaying and carving out the opposition's attack with equal measure.

Mesmerized at how devastating he was, I drooled excitedly on my pillow and replayed the shots he played in my head in ultra-slow-mo. That brutal cut and mouthwatering drive was a sight to behold. The slash of his blade was akin to a samurai beheading a fly, with the sort of precision and purpose that only one who beheads flies on a daily basis could achieve.

149 blistering runs off only 104 deliveries with 13 dashing fours and 8 towering sixes. What an innings to set up an immense win for his team.

The dream changed shape and somehow the clarity improved to a point where I could see even flecks of dust in the air. I frowned in my sleep as I realized something was wrong with the picture. Sanga was decked in yellow and pointing to half a squash ball in his glove which apparently made him Superman.

I woke up breathless and glared incredulously at the bedroom wall. Catching sight of the clock, I realized it was afternoon and I had overslept as usual. Groaning inwardly at the fading memories of my dream, I dragged myself out of bed and checked out the empty fridge in vague hope that there might be something in there which could clear my head of all the cobwebs. Giving up on that thought I flopped down on the couch and flipped on the TV.

Sri Lanka vs India and Sanga was at the crease. My sleep-filled eyes widened in surprise and I stared at the LED screen in front of me transfixed as Ashish Nehra sprinted energetically to the crease, twisted his body in a mysterious manner and bowled short left-arm rubbish. Sanga goes for the epic pull shot and I grip the remote in my hand tightly. The ball pops up tamely in the air and Zaheer Khan makes the easy catch at mid-on look like an epic match-winning dive of glory. 17 off 38, way to go Sanga!!



Note that some aspects of this story are satirical and are hence to be taken with a pinch of salt, a shot of tequila and a pickled lime.

[Teja.]

As I've said before, He's without doubt my favourite batsman to watch in the world by a massive margin.

Absolutely monster batsman too, The only one among the bats whose test careers have started off(meaningfully) in the early 00s who is an ATG, in my opinion. Talking about the likes of Hayden, Sehwag, Jaya and Smith here.

It's pretty tragic how for a period of 3 years he was clearly the best batsman in the world in my reckoning but people kept bringing up, on then current form, clearly inferior names like Kallis and SRT as the best in the world. (Obviously Sach closed in by late 2010)

Will be underrated forever, not in the Tervor Goddard sense of being forgotten completely as a player but in the Shaun Pollock sense of everyone knowing he's ****ing good but failing to bring him up when people talk about great players.

I hope he has 2-3 more exceptional years left in him. Absolutely wub him to bits.

[CWB304]

Originally Posted by Teja.

As I've said before, He's without doubt my favourite batsman to watch in the world by a massive margin.

Absolutely monster batsman too, The only one among the bats whose test careers have started off(meaningfully) in the early 00s who is an ATG, in my opinion. Talking about the likes of Hayden, Sehwag, Jaya and Smith here.

It's pretty tragic how for a period of 3 years he was clearly the best batsman in the world in my reckoning but people kept bringing up, on then current form, clearly inferior names like Kallis and SRT as the best in the world. (Obviously Sach closed in by late 2010)

Will be underrated forever, not in the Tervor Goddard sense of being forgotten completely as a player but in the Shaun Pollock sense of everyone knowing he's ****ing good but failing to bring him up when people talk about great players.

I hope he has 2-3 more exceptional years left in him. Absolutely wub him to bits.

Good post.

[Cricketismylife]

There is no doubt for me that as a player he's an all-time great, but as a batsman alone I think its not completely clear cut. He's a run machine and has won so many games for Sri Lanka under pressure. He's not as strong in a few countries as mentioned, but even in those he has a few classic knocks, the 119 to save the test in England, the 100 in Durban to set up a test victory against SA. And places like South Africa it's a shame that there was a 9 year gap in which Sri Lanka didn't play a test there, and Sanga came into the first test without a warm up, so it's not easy for him to suddenly adapt. The FTP is to blame for this.

To his credit he has made 2 outstanding hundreds on green pitches in New Zealand, one of them was 100 out of 170 and the other one 156 out of 261, the second one leading to victory. Again he has done well in Australia, but he'l need to do it again to prove it wasn't a fluke over 3 tests.

If he could sort his record out in 2 of the 4 countries where he averages under 40 then I think there's absolutely no doubt that hes an all-time great, but then again it's not like hes played much in somewhere like West Indies, and I really don't believe he lacks the technique to succeed there.

To sum up the guy is a complete and utter run machine, and in the last 5 years has scored as high as anyone else, and has been a fixture at the top or near the top of the rankings. When you add the fact that he's been a keeper in nearly 50 tests, it definitely makes him an all-time great as an overall player. If he can put in a couple more big performances away then he will be without doubt an all-time great batsman.

[Spark]

He's frighteningly difficult to get out when set. A few months ago I posted some stats on batsmen's "conversion rates" - how heavily they cash in when they get a start, say 20 or 25+. At the time I was having a look at Clarke/Ponting/Tendulkar and they had what I regarded excellent conversion rates at about 85 runs in innings on average once set (and also to laugh at Watson, for obvious reasons)

But Sanga was just absurd. Miiiles above his contemporaries. Has a Bradmanesque average once set, genuinely (very close to 100). Just no fun to bowl to at all when set, which is the hallmark of a great batsman - get him out early, or you're going to regret it.

(His current run is an extreme example this, either makes a duck or 190-odd atm)

[smalishah84]

I hate him and love him at the same time

as CWB mentioned.....canes Pakistan all the time.....never fails to deliver against us......well finally he got his first duck against us today thanks to Junaid Khan

An ATG without question and probably the best batsman to come out of SL. Would have been rated much higher had he not been from SL

[wellAlbidarned]

He's incredibly ****ing good, but in a kind of robotic way. I'm not at all tempted to look up and watch Sangakkarra 100s on Rob's channel like with someone like Lara, put it that way.

[Jacknife]

Originally Posted by wellAlbidarned

He's incredibly ****ing good, but in a kind of robotic way. I'm not at all tempted to look up and watch Sangakkarra 100s on Rob's channel like with someone like Lara, put it that way.

I know exactly what you mean.

[H4G]

He's the greatest batsman ever from Srilanka without any doubts

[kyear2]

How well did he do today finally when the bowlers had something to work with?

Great batsman, best from Sri Lanka, just dont think that he is ATG material, ATG means that he is in the top tier elite, ranking with Richards, Tendulkar, Lara, Chappell, Sobers ect. Do we really believe that he has acomplished what they have?

[Spark]

He faced three balls, two of which were genuine wicket-takers tbf. That happens, not much you can do about it.