Sangakkara looking to rewrite history

Captain Kumar Sangakkara is looking for his team to pile on the runs against India

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Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara will attempt to walk the line dividing personal ambition and team requirement in a three-Test series against India which begins in Ahmedabad on Monday.

Sangakkara’s fledgling captaincy has been embossed with series victories over Pakistan and New Zealand, but those triumphs were secured at home, where Sri Lanka’s prowess is undisputed.

The tour of India holds special significance for Sangakkara as a series triumph would not only break Sri Lanka’s winless run on Indian soil in 27 years, but it would set him firmly on the path to becoming Sri Lanka’s most successful captain.

Sangakkara’s form is crucial to Sri Lanka’s mission. It was his innings of 130 not out, achieved in more than seven hours at the crease, which saved Sri Lanka from certain defeat in the Colombo Test against Pakistan in July.

And the left-hander is aiming to bury India under a mountain of runs this time around.

“My targets are the same wherever I play,” he said. “I want to score runs, preferably by the hundreds. I want to score 10,000 Test runs and get 30 hundreds.

“However, as with every batsman, personal ambition is supported by what the team needs.”

Sangakkara, along with predecessor Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera, form an axis on which Sri Lanka’s batting revolves.

The rest of the Sri Lanka’s batsmen are relatively inexperienced, especially in Indian conditions, and Sangakkara believes the middle order will have to deliver if they are to succeed.

“I think the middle-order batting has been doing very well over the last couple of years and that form has to last if the success of the team is to endure,” he said. “It’s the batsmen’s job to be consistent. One cannot be complacent.”

India have played only three Tests this year, in March and April, but captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes his team are capable of finding their form.

“This is the way modern cricket is played,” Dhoni said. “I am confident we will be up for the challenge.”

Sachin Tendulkar, who made his debut as a teenager, will mark the start of his 21st year in international cricket in Ahmedabad and has indicated his appetite for runs is undiminished.

“Whenever I am on a cricket field I enjoy it,” Tendulkar said. “There is still a 16-year-old hidden inside who wants to go out and express himself.”