2 record-breaking left-handed batsmen of modern times

The decade of the 1990s saw the arrival of world-leading batsmen like Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid, and others who propelled the game of cricket to greater heights with their style, dexterity, and performance. Similarly, the start of the third millennium saw the emergence of a few batsmen who were equally potent and skillful. They brought newer dimensions to the game and enriched the legacy of cricket.

Few of them were left-handed batsmen who carved a niche for themselves by scoring huge amount of runs and winning the matches for their national side. Here are two such players.

---

#2 Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook opened the batting for England for 12 years. He played under different conditions and excelled with his bat against every opposition in the world. Cook was a left-arm batsman who was known for his neatness in the stroke-play. He made his international debut against India at Nagpur by scoring a half-century and a century in both the innings.

Cook was nimble in his footwork and played all kind of bowling attack with a classical approach. He was not extravagant like Vivian Richards. The Englishman believed in building his innings before launching an assault against the bowlers.

After Sunil Gavaskar, he became the second opener to score more than 10,000 Test runs. He holds the record of most Test centuries for England. Cook played 161 Test matches in 12 years which is commendable by any standard.

He retired in 2018 after scoring 12,472 runs. This comprised 33 centuries and 57 half-centuries. Cook is the fifth highest run scorer of all time in the Test matches. He shouldered the responsibility of captaining the English side with great cricketing acumen.

#1 Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara made his debut at the age of 22 against South Africa, where he performed poorly. It took him more than 10 innings to come to his own, after which he became unstoppable. The Sri Lankan batted in the middle-order and was renowned for salvaging the Sri Lankan team numerous times.

He was an astute batsman who had all the shots in his arsenal. Sangakkara was mostly attacking in his batting approach and liked to dominate the bowlers. His cover-drives and flicks were especially elegant. He also donned the wicket-keeping hat for his side and was exceptionally good at it.

Sangakkara played 134 Test matches and scored 12,400 runs at an average of 57.40. This comprised 38 centuries and 52 half-centuries. He scored 11 double-centuries, second only to Sir Don Bradman. He was the first player to get 150+ runs in four succeeding Test matches. Sangakkara stands fifth in the list of highest average (qualification 500 runs) after Donald Bradman, Ken Barrington, Wally Hammond, and Garfield Sobers.

He captained his side and led them to historic wins against Australia and India. The entire cricket fraternity lauded his contribution to the game of cricket.