Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said earlier today that he has gone down on his knees to beg record-breaking batsman Kumar Sangakkara not to quit after the World Cup.
Sangakkara, 37, will call time on his ODI career at the end of the tournament but he is still in a rich vein of form — on Wednesday he became the first batsman to score four consecutive one-day centuries as Sri Lanka thrashed Scotland by 148 runs.
The left-hander hit 124 off 95 balls and 38-year-old Tillakaratne Dilshan made 104 as the Islanders piled up 363 for nine and then bowled Scotland out for 215 in the Pool A match at the Bellerive Oval.
Sangakkara had also made 105 not out against Bangladesh, an unbeaten 117 against England and 104 against Australia.
He is also the leading scorer in the ongoing tournament with 496 runs from six games.
If that wasn’t enough, Sangakkara also took two catches to overtake Adam Gilchrist as the most successful World Cup wicket-keeper with 54 dismissals. The Australian had 52 victims to his name.
“I’ve been on my knees asking Kumar not to retire but we have to respect his wishes because we are thankful for all the times he has represented the country,” said Mathews.
Despite his form, Sangakkara, who has played 403 ODIs and made over 14,000 runs, insisted that there will be no going back on his decision.
“Retirement is not about form, it is about time and place and whether it feels right. It is never about whether you can play or not,” he said.
Sri Lanka had already qualified for the quarter-finals and will likely face South Africa in the last eight while Scotland have now lost all five matches.
Also Read: World Cup 2015: Lankans down brave Scots
