Sangakkara decision to call of the match with Sachin on 87
After the conclusion of first test match between Sri Lanka and India at Motera Ahmadabad on 20th November 2009, Sunil Gavaskar praised Mahela Jayawardene's performances saying that he has never been given the credit for his performances because he represents Sri Lanka which is a small country and had Jayawardene been a Australian or a Englishman he would have got more credit for his performances. Sunil Gavaskar though is one of the greatest ever cricketing icons is not right because the print and electronic media have always had the regards for Sri Lankan greats like Sanath Jayasurya Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. Millions of viewers often hear and see Australian and English commentators talking high of Jaywardene and Jayasurya. Mahela Jaywardene is truly a great player but Sunil Gavaskar sympathetic attitude towards Jayawardene is nothing more than a extension of his general sympathy towards Sri Lankan cricketers. Sunil Gavaksar is not the only one as he has other former cricketers like Ravi Shastri who share a similar concern for players like Muralidharan.
In the same test match in which Mahela Jaywardene scored a brilliant 275, Sachin Tendulkar was batting on a brilliant 87 when Kumar Sangakkara wanted to call of the match as a draw. When there is nothing left in the match, what was the necessity for Sangakkara to deny a revered international cricketer like Sachin Tendulkar a century. Even in a country like Australia where their players and fans do not think or talk highly of their opponents, Sachin Tendulkar is a revered figure and invariably receives a standing ovation when he goes to bat and after completion of innings as well. Sangakkara having played quite a lot of international cricket would have been aware of the fact that Sachin Tendulkar has always been a victim of some poor decisions from umpires and was also out quite a few times in the nineties and here there was an opportunity for Sachin to get a hundred and Sangakarra and Sri Lanka had nothing to lose.
With close to 800 wickets, 786 to be precise Muthiah Muralidharan is a legend, but Kumar Sangakkara should also take into consideration the fact that Muralidharan would have struggled to pick up even 300 wickets if former Indian greats had not come openly in support of the Sri Lankan in the early days of his career when he was going through the worst phase of his career after being reportedly called for chucking. Had Muralidharan not received support from Indians he would probably quit cricket out of sheer frustration of being no balled by umpires.
Kumar Sangakkara and Sri Lankan cricketers should never ever forget the support and contribution received from Indians.
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