My favorite moment in the history of the game: Kumar Sangakkara's 90 off 43

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Well, just like the post said, There have been thousands of cricket matches, oh wait, that means only the official international ones. There have been millions of cricket matches, international, first-class plays, List A matches.. in many various formats, plus boys playing sunset! That is the best format of Cricket, don't even think about arguing about that.

I'm a huge cricket fan, always has been. But a thing with me is that I don't remember matches. Whenever my friends get to talk about past matches and their specific details, I'm like... you know.

Therefore a contest named 'favorite moment in a cricket match' should sound impossible to me, but then a thunderstruck and reminded me of my one and only memorable moment in the cricket world, so that has to top everything thing.

Kumar Sangakkara walking back to the Pavillion after scoring 90 off 43 balls.

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Sangakkara Slog Sweeping

This thing happened back in 2009. (Damn, 11 years ago!) One of the most highest scoring ODI matches I've ever seen, India scored 414 in their 50 Overs, and Sri Lanka was to chase it. Nowadays we see high scoring matches everywhere, but back in 2009, this was a huge deal.

Both Virender Sehwag and Tillakaratne Dilshan scored centuries, 146 and 160 respectively, and Sehwag won the man of the match, but the talk of the match was Kumar Sangakkara, that classic stroke player smashing 90 off just 43 balls.

In the chase, our opening pair Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan built an excellent foundation for the next batsmen, when Tharanga got out as the first wicket, the scoreboard showed the mark as 188 at 24 overs. They had done their job perfectly, and Tillakaratne Dilshan had already scored a hundred. The required rate was about 8.75. But you know Dilshan, he gives the momentum with rapid innings and slows down a bit after time, that's just his nature. And like that, Dilshan was becoming tired.

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Dilshan Congratulating Sanga after the rapid half-century

No. 3 was Kumar Sangakkara, who has gained universal recognition for his stylish strokeplay. But will a so much disciplined player who barely has a strike rate of 75 be able to keep the momentum? the question that came to everyone's mind.

But, as soon as Sanga came into the crease, he started playing a whole different game than his usual style. He started attacking from the very first ball and quickly get on with the game without messing around to get used to the ball. He was as stylish as always, but this time just the strokes and drives had more energy. Instead of his usual soft hands' technique, Sanga went hard at the ball with the same strokes but sending up and up. He got under the ball, and slog-swept the spinners and on drove the balls of the fast bowlers, it was just beautiful to watch. It seemed as Sanga was seeing the cricket ball like a football.

The scorecard of the Sri Lanka innings.

He got his half-century in just 24 balls by smacking one off the ground of Harbhajan Singh. Kept on smashing but he miscued one pull shot and caught at the boundary line, marking the end of one of the most brilliant and energetic innings the world has ever seen. I distinctively remember the commentator saying "Thank You Sanga, Take a Bow".

Blaster Sanath Jayasuriya came into the middle after Sanga departed, but he was sent back immediately. Then Dilshan fell too, turning the event into a sense of nightmare. And it really was. It was just 70 needed in 10 overs when Sanga got out, but Sri Lanka didn't manage to get there. The lineup fell one by one in real sloppy ways even occurring a buzz about match-fixing. SL lost the match, scoring only 411 in the 50 overs.

So that's it, My favorite moment, Sanga walking to the Pavillion and hearing the commentator saying 'Thank You' in the background. So unlucky that I couldn't find a pic of that moment.

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Highlights of the particular match

This is my entry, Thanks to @damithudaya for organizing this great contest. Cheers!

Oh and thanks for reading!