Sri Lanka Stand over batting order

For the past week, Sri Lanka has reflected on Kumar Sangakkara's legacy. On the eve of the deciding Test match, the team has found he has also left behind a slew of dilemmas.

Sri Lanka know there is no possible substitute for Sangakkara's experience, but they do hope to scavenge together the runs he used to score. They hope to tickle the top order in just the right way, to collectively squeeze out those few additional runs.

The team has confirmed Upul Tharanga will replace Sangakkara in the XI. Though both are left-handers from Nondescripts Cricket Club, that is about where the similarities end. Where Sangakkara was Sri Lanka's sure thing, Tharanga is a man of glorious uncertainties, transitioning through lean trots and purple patches in a single over, the way most others do over long careers.
Tharanga is among the more polarising figures in Sri Lanka cricket, but recently he has made a good Test-match case for himself. He top-scored at the SSC against Pakistan last year, but was then dropped. He then made 46 and 48 on a demanding Pallekele surface upon his return to the team.