Brilliant Sangakkara inches closer to one of Bradman's magical records

The scoreboard has it’s own story to tell. NZ 221 and 22-0 SL 356 (Sangakkara 203, Chandimal 67) This double century didn’t come easy. It came on a Wellington wicket where 15 wickets fell on Day 1. It came on a wicket where the highest score by a Kiwi batsman was 69 (Kane Williamson). The second highest score by a Sri Lankan batsman was 67 (Chandimal) and if you take him out of the picture, the next highest by a Sri Lankan batsman is 16. [caption id=“attachment_2029101” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Sangakkara produced another innings of genius for Sri Lanka. AFP[/caption] It wasn’t easy but the second Test track was another opportunity for Kumar Sangakkara to show just how good a batsman he really is. If you had any doubt that is. The other day, he went by 12,000 runs in Test cricket and he did it faster than anyone in the history of the game. Following a 2014 season in which he scored 1,493 runs, including two double centuries and three centuries, Sangakkara has kept the runs coming at the start of the new year and who knows how far he can take things. Sangakkara’s double century brought him within one of matching Donald Bradman’s record of 12. Brian Lara got to nine while Ponting and Tendulkar only ever got to six. At 37, Sangakkara isn’t getting any younger but his batting continues to improve and his average of 58.22 is testament to that. Here’s a look at how Twitter reacted to his double ton: https://twitter.com/mohanstatsman/status/551602150426423297 https://twitter.com/SuperSportBlitz/status/551614326801711105 https://twitter.com/mohanstatsman/status/551607271331864576 https://twitter.com/derekwillis/status/551557306962690048 https://twitter.com/Shehzad_Crkt/status/551615590394511361 https://twitter.com/bhogleharsha/status/551568045798588416 https://twitter.com/record_cricinfo/status/551615302060867584 https://twitter.com/mohanstatsman/status/551583393603805184 https://twitter.com/NaveenAmola/status/551614403733225473 https://twitter.com/White_Adam/status/551601499730501633 https://twitter.com/FreddieFaizan/status/551613851632824320 https://twitter.com/rgcricket/status/551268451558649856