Sri Lanka V http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 – 2nd Test – Sri Lankan Players to watch out for – Part II
Continued from Part I...
With a batting average exceeding 56, Sangakkara is the most consistent batsman on the current Lankan roster. The Matale left-hander has made plenty of valuable contributions to his team’s total to get them home on a number of occasions.
The role the wicketkeeper batsman has taken now in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758’s batting line-up is more of a stabilizer. The burden of responsibility in the middle order rests on Sangakkara’s shoulders. With a knack of stabilizing the innings, the veteran top-order batsman is capable of playing all around the wicket. He is also a very good runner between the wickets, and this quality helps him score runs at a good strike rate of 54.15.
The 35-year-old Lankan veteran holds an imposing Test career. He made his Test debut against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JH-Kallis-c1692 of South Africa boasts an average (57.31) better than Sangakkara’s.
Besides being Sri Lankan batting line-up’s middle-order mainstay, Sangakkara has proven himself to be an agile and adept wicketkeeper with 168 catches and 20 stumpings.
Though he failed to impress in the series opener at Galle, managing just five runs in Sri Lanka’s first innings, he has proven himself over the last twelve years and surely stands out as a real threat for the New Zealand bowlers. It may be noted here that he was the leading run scorer (490 runs from six innings) in the 1-0 Test series win over http://www.senore.com/Cricket/M-Muralitharan-c1864’s retirement in July 2010.
Angelo Matthews:
Mathews, a strong contender for captaincy in future, is a class act. His knack of handling pressure situations well has earned him a lot of praise from the domestic as well as international cricketing fraternity.
He has impressed with his ability to bat with the tail in tense situations, especially against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in Melbourne in 2010 and most recently against Pakistan in July this year.
The veteran all-rounder is of utmost utility to the team. He is not only a top quality batsman, capable of rescuing a team from a precarious position under any circumstances, but a handful right-arm medium pace bowler too. His ability to pick up wickets at important junctures makes him an important player in the second and final Test match against the Black Caps, at the P Sara Oval in Colombo.
The 25-year-old Colombo born all-rounder made his Test debut in July 2009 against Pakistan, at Galle, and has since played 27 Test matches establishing himself as a dependable middle-order batsman and third seamer. The 27 Test appearances saw him scoring 1362 runs, including a century and nine half centuries, at a batting average above 40.
He was impressive in the previous match at Galle, where he played a valuable knock of 79 runs, sharing a 156-run stand with skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DPMD-Jayawardene-c1397, to put the hosts back on winning track after once reeling at 20 for 4.
He is surely going to be a prospect in the second Test against New Zealand.
Continued in Part III...
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