Kumar Sangakkara is one of the best modern-day batters from Sri Lanka. Debuted in 2000, Sangakkara’s stylish batting ensured he became a vital cog in Sri Lanka’s batting lineup. Throughout his long international career, Sangakkara sealed the number three spot, often batting under pressure and bailing his team out. The dazzling batter was a popular choice in ODI World Cup betting.
In this article, we will discuss the four consecutive hundreds he scored in ODI World Cup 2015, which remains a record.
The Four Consecutive Centuries
Sangakkara achieved this feat during the 2015 ODI World Cup, scoring back-to-back centuries against Bangladesh, England, Australia, and Scotland. He became the highest run-getter for Sri Lanka and the second-highest overall run-scorer in the tournament with 541 runs.
In the next section, we look at the four consecutive centuries he scored in the 2015 World Cup.
105 (76) vs Bangladesh:
Sangakkara kicked off his streak with a superb century in the winning cause. Bangladesh had fielded first and didn’t expect Sri Lankan batters to come hard at them. But it happened as Tillakaratne Dilshan slammed a mighty 161 off 146 balls.
Later Sangakkara also slammed a century which meant Sri Lanka eventually scored 332/1. Bangladesh couldn’t chase the total down and were all out for 240, losing the match by 92 runs.
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117 (86) vs England:
England had batted first and, riding on Joe Root’s 121, managed to set a target of 310 at Wellington. In reply, Sri Lanka was powered by Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne (139 off 143 balls). The duo shared a superb stand worth 212 runs and stayed unbeaten until the end as the Island nation won the match by nine wickets.
104 Off 107 Balls vs Australia:
Within a gap of seven days, Sangakkara was back in business as he went on to slam another superb ton. But this knock came in the losing cause as Sri Lanka failed to chase a mammoth target of 377.
Glenn Maxwell’s counter-punching 102 off 53 balls saw them post a massive score. In reply, Sri Lanka had lost one of the openers early, but Dilshan and Sangakkara shared a 130-run stand for the second wicket. But once Dilshan was gone, they started to lose wickets in regular intervals, eventually losing the match by 64 runs.
124 (95) vs Scotland:
Sangakkara shone again with the bat as he took Scotland bowlers to the cleaners at Hobart. Batting first, Sri Lanka lost their first wicket early. But Tillakratne Dilshan (104 off 99 balls) and Sangakkara stitched together 205 runs for the second wicket. Sri Lanka eventually ended up setting a massive score of 363/9. It was too much to ask for, as the Scotts were bowled out for 215.
Concluding Thoughts
Kumar Sangakkara was not at the peak of his career when he scored these four ODI centuries. He played his last ODI match in the same tournament. Despite being at the dawn of his career, the left-handed batter mustered so many runs, an excellent example of the man’s greatness. He took up coaching roles in the preceding years, but his feat in the 50-over World Cup remains unbreached.
