Colombo, July 27 (IANS) Skipper Kumar Sangakkara struck his seventh double ton to power Sri Lanka to a mammoth 457 for two in the first innings against India at lunch on the second day of the second cricket Test here Tuesday.
Sangakkara was batting on 214 and Mahela Jayawardene on 71 as Sri Lanka added 145 runs to their overnight score of 312 for two at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground here Tuesday. With his seventh double ton, Sangakkara passed Marvan Atapattu’s six and now has the most double hundreds in his country.
The duo batted in an aggressive fashion as the Indian bowlers’ suffering continued for the second straight day.
Sangakkara started the proceedings by hitting Abhimanyu Mithun for a crisp boundary through mid-off and then flicked the next ball through the midwicket for another four.
Sangakkara again smashed Mithun for three successive boundaries in his third over, which helped him surpass the 150-run mark.
Jayawardene also freed his arms with a couple of boundaries off Ishant Sharma and lifted left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha for a four over mid-on to bring up the 100-run partnership for the third wicket.
Ojha found himself at the receiving end of Sangakkara’s blade as the Sri Lankan captain hit four boundaries in five balls to move on to 199. In the next over, Sangakkara’s square drive, well clear of the slip fielder, off Harabhajan raced towards the boundary to bring up his well-deserved double hundred.
