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Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Bulawayo, 3rd day
'Disappointed I couldn't get more' - Sangakkara
Wisden Cricinfo staff
May 17, 2004
Kumar Sangakkara may have missed out on a great opportunity to score his maiden triple-century, but he was happy that his 270 signalled a personal return to form and put the runs on the board for the team:
On scoring the second-highest Test score by a Sri Lankan
It feels good. I'm a bit disappointed that I couldn't get more runs. I batted and concentrated hard. The wicket was coming on very well - it was easy to bat on it. The field was set very defensive. It was very hard to penetrate it and it took a long time to score the runs, but I am quite happy with the effort.
On missing out on a triple-century
A triple-hundred is always in your mind when you are on 270. I am disappointed I didn't get there. But as long as I did something for the side and got a good score, I'm happy.
On whether Brian Lara's mark of 400 was on his mind
Sometimes you think about it. But the immediate target was to get to 270-280 and then to work it out in tens. It would have been great to have gone with it, but it will probably be on another day.
On batting with Marvan Atapattu
It's great to bat with him. He rotates the strike very easily. Sometimes you are just a spectator watching him play. He's got probably the tightest technique I've seen. And he's a very elegant player. I enjoyed batting with him.
On returning to form
It's not that I've been batting badly. I've been batting well but not converting the runs into bigger scores. I was getting out in the thirties and then fifties. I was looking for a big score and I am very happy to have got it here. It's always good to get runs once you go through a lean period.
On whether giving up wicketkeeping has helped his batting
It's hard to say on a tour like this, because we haven't spent a long time in the field. Sometimes it is nice to be away from the gloves but then again when I am keeping I am more involved with the game. This is a particular role that I've been asked to play for now. I would like to work it out and see how it goes.
On how difficult runscoring was
Because of the defensive fields it was quite difficult to penetrate that field. It was a case of waiting for the correct ball to put away. In terms of batting time it was good to spend a long time out in the middle. But a double-hundred is a double-hundred. You are always happy with it no matter who you get it against.
On how this compared with his earlier double-hundred
The Lahore 200 would be ranked higher than this because Pakistan had a fantastic pace attack and Marvan [Atapattu] got out first ball. I was slightly under pressure but Sanath [Jayasuriya] was at the other end and he took a lot of pressure off me. I reckon that would probably be one of my better innings. I rate my first hundred against India as my best, because I had to work really hard for it right throughout my stay at the crease.
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