Sangakkara joins exclusive club

Sydney - Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara became the first batsman to score hundreds in three consecutive World Cup matches when he made a brilliant run-a-ball century against Australia in a Pool A match in Sydney on Sunday.

The 37-year-old left-hander's 24th ton in his 402nd match at this level also saw him equal the overall ODI record for consecutive hundreds held jointly by the Pakistan pair of Zaheer Abbas and Saeed Anwar, the South African trio of Herschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock and New Zealand's Ross Taylor.

Earlier, Sangakkara became only the second batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to score 14 000 ODI runs when he got to 39 with a paddled two off spinner Glenn Maxwell.

Sangakkara was eventually out for 104 when caught in the deep by Aaron Finch off James Faulkner.

Now retired India great Tendulkar remains way out in front at the top of the ODI run charts with 18 246 in 463 matches.