Kumar Sangakkara hits ton in Surrey’s victory

London: Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara’s superb century saw Surrey into the final of English county cricket’s one-day cup as they saw off Nottinghamshire by four runs in a thrilling clash at The Oval on Monday.

The veteran left-hander made 166 in 138 balls, the highest score in this season’s tournament, and Surrey will now face Gloucestershire in the final at Lord’s on September 19. “It was a wonderful game of cricket and the difference was probably Kumar Sangakkara’s innings,” said Surrey captain Gareth Batty.

Nottinghamshire, chasing 301 for victory, recovered after they declined to 16 for three, 17-year-old Sam Curran taking two wickets in two balls in his first over, with the visitors missing batsmen Alex Hales and James Taylor because of England duty.

But Greg Smith made an outstanding 124, while Samit Patel and Dan Christian added a fifty each. Tom Curran, Sam’s brother, held his nerve when Nottinghamshire needed 14 runs off the last over.