"Not a century free of incidents"- When Kumar Sangakkara tried to do a Ben Stokes with Sachin Tendulkar nearing a Test hundred

Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar revealed in his autobiography how former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara tried to call off a Test match on the last day when there was no result in sight. The 52-year-old recalled the incident that occurred in a Test match played in Ahmedabad in 2009, writing that Sangakkara approached him to call off the game, with a draw being the only possible result.

Tendulkar told the then-Sri Lanka captain that he was keen on getting to his hundred and added that he would have gotten to the mark sooner had Sangakkara not set defensive fields. Writing in his autobiography, "Playing it my way," the former India captain revealed (via @dheeruutweets on X):

"I also scored a hundred on the last day and it was not a century free of incidents. Once it was evident to the Sri Lankans that they could no longer win, they set ultra-defensive fields. At one point, Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lankan skipper, asked if I really wanted to carry on because there was no longer a possibility of a result in the match. "I said to him bluntly that a Test hundred was a Test hundred and I would have got there long before if he had set sporting fields. While I had no problem with him trying to make things difficult for me, there was no reason for me to call it off when there was time left in the game."

Tendulkar eventually got to his hundred off 211 balls with 11 fours in his innings. The match was called off a couple of balls after he reached the landmark, with India's score reading 412/4 in their second innings.

Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar get to their hundreds after Ben Stokes offers to call off the game

The Sachin Tendulkar-Kumar Sangakkara incident in Ahmedabad was reminiscent of what happened on Day 5 of the England versus India Test at Old Trafford. Before the start of the 15 mandatory overs, England captain Ben Stokes expressed an interest in calling off the match with no clear result in sight.

However, the Indian pairing of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar wished to carry on batting in the final session. That decision led to an argument, with Stokes questioning as to whether they wanted to score a Test hundred off Harry Brook's bowling.

Both batters eventually got to their centuries, and the match was called off soon after they reached their respective landmarks.

Follow IPL Auction 2025 Live Updates, News & Biddings at Sportskeeda. Get the fastest updates on Mega-Auction and cricket news

Edited by Sankalp Srivastava