Happy to be second to the Don, says Sanga

Elmo Rodrigopulle reporting from Galle

It was a contended and smiling Kumar Sangakkara who faced the media after his epoch making 221 which put him second to the Don.

I think everyone is second to the Don. I’m pretty happy that I’m two double-hundreds behind him, but that’s probably the only way I can even get close to reaching him, so I’m pretty happy with the day’s play.

Describe your innings?

There was quite a bit of hard work, and quite a bit of luck, starting with the day’s play today. The thing with the Pakistan bowlers was it was a bit difficult to score singles, especially with a spinner like Ajmal, because he’s got variation. Being a leftie, I rarely come out of the crease to him.

Other than that, if you spend enough time out there, there’s runs on offer. I thought they bowled pretty decent areas. It would have been brilliant if Mahela and Angelo got hundreds, because they both looked well set and looked comfortable. It was a bit disappointing that they couldn’t make it over the line, because they really deserved that.

Different from usual Galle wickets?

Maybe there is a bit less turn. It maybe broke up a bit less and there was more grass cover on the wicket. I think it was a fantastic effort by Warnaweera to give us a wicket of such quality after the rain that they had and the preparation being stalled. I think it was a case where again we let the Pakistan tail get away with a few more runs, especially with Rehman getting a fifty. Other than that if we can get a few early wickets in the morning, we’ll try and see if we can put pressure on them.

Rain breaks?

It wasn’t too difficult. Sometimes the breaks were welcome because I was getting tired and it was nice to come back into the dressing room, have a breather, a cup of coffee and then go back out. Sometimes it helps you and sometimes it doesn’t. In this innings the breaks really helped me to refocus and go back out and play.

Good against Pakistan?

I don’t know. I’m trying to think. My first double hundred was against them in Lahore. Since then I’ve just had a knack of scoring against them. They’ve got a very good attack, but it’s maybe because I’m a left-hander. Maybe their spinners find it a bit difficult to bowl to me - I don’t know. I think I’ve had a bit of good fortune as well along the way. They sometimes drop a few catches along the way which helps me. Sometimes as a batsman you feel in sync and in rhythm with a certain attack, and I think the Pakistanis have been like that for me.

Missed double hundreds?

Not really disappointed. At the end of the day it’s up to you to convert. The responsibility is yours if you’ve had the opportunity and didn’t convert, you’ve got no one else to blame but yourself. I always think 1 run is better than 0, 10 is better than 5. However many runs you get for the side and if that helps the side - that’s fine. It doesn’t have to be a 100 or a 200. If you do get the chance to go big, you try and do that. I’ll always have certain regrets, but nothing that I can’t deal with.

Plan for victory tomorrow?

We need to get nine wickets. Tomorrow we’ll come and possibly our seamers we’ll start at both ends. Our responsibility is to put the ball in the right places and to make the batsman play as much as we can.

Mental changes?

I think you get to certain time when you resign yourself to the fact that you... sometimes you drive yourself too hard and load yourself up with expectations. I’ve just been a lot freer. Once I thought taking responsibility for the side is well and good, but at the end of the day the way you try and achieve the runs that you need to score is by being a lot freer and by expressing yourself a bit more, I think. That’s true in one-day cricket, and in Test cricket - whichever form of the game you play.

I’ve been a lot more relaxed. I’ve made a few technical changes as well as I’ve gone along. And it’s just worked. Once I’ve gone to the middle it’s never been a case of, “Now you’ve got to score a 100,” or “you’ve got to do this”, I just look at the ball, I look at the bowler, I look at the situation of the game and think, “ok, this is what I’m going to do, this is how I’m going to play, and if it doesn’t work it doesn’t work”. That kind of acceptance of the fact that you’re fallible - you’re allowed to make mistakes at any time of your career has freed me up a bit.

Apply to young batsmen as well?

I think it should. When you’re young and you come into the side, you put a lot of pressure on yourself. They say, “You’ve got to grab the opportunity,” or “you’ve got to make the most of these opportunities”, and that can work against you as well, as a player. You’ve got to be very free - you’ve got to be able to go and play positively. You’ve got to be able to trust yourself and not second-guess yourself when you’re playing in the middle - especially when you’re playing against a spinner like Ajmal. If

you’re young and you’re facing him. As an individual and as a team, we’ve got to build that into our culture where players are allowed to make mistakes. If you make the same mistake continuously and you’re frivolous with it, then that’s a different question. But players have to be able to learn to accept failure, because that’s probably the only guarantee in cricket. Once you accept that it makes it easier for you to blossom as a batsman, and also as a bowlers. Hopefully we can create the culture where doing something positive, taking a calculated risk, all in the cause of achieving a goal for the side, should be accepted and everyone should back those decisions.

Sad about Mahela retirement?

Not just me, but the cricket world, Sri Lankan fans and our whole team will feel the loss of a great player like Mahela. It will take a long time to fill that void. As he goes, he will give another cricketer to come in. Mahela has given exceptional service to Sri Lanka for 17 years. We must all appreciate that. He is a player that can’t be forgotten, both in Sri Lanka and worldwide.

Why so good against Ajmal?

I think it’s mainly because I’ve kept a lot to Murali, so I’ve had to learn to read deliveries from the hand. I don’t say that I read Ajmal all the time, but most of the time I do read his doosra, so that makes it slightly easier to play. Because I’m a leftie I don’t have to worry about being hit on the pads when he beats my bat.

If he does beat my bat, it’s usually straight to the wicketkeeper. As a right hander, he can beat you on both sides of the bat, so that makes it a bit hard for a right hander. It’s a combination of the team.