Sri Lanka is known for producing some world-beating spinners in the game of cricket. Former Sri Lankan spinner Muthiah Muralidaran sits at the top of the tree for the most international wickets in the game. Apart from that, not many would have known that Sri Lanka holds the record for the top two biggest partnerships ever recorded in test cricket.
And those partnerships are just incredible; they are more than the average score of a team in red-ball cricket. Sri Lanka joined the ICC as a full member in 1981 and played their first test against England in February 1982. And here we will talk about the biggest test partnerships by Sri Lanka in history so far.
Highest Partnership in Test by Sri Lanka
| Pair | Runs | Wkt | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene | 624 | 3rd | South Africa | Colombo (SSC) | 27 Jul 2006 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama | 576 | 2nd | India | Colombo (RPS) | 2 Aug 1997 |
| Marvan Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara | 438 | 2nd | Zimbabwe | Bulawayo | 14 May 2004 |
| Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera | 437 | 4th | Pakistan | Karachi | 21 Feb 2009 |
| Mahela Jayawardene and Prasanna Jayawardene | 351 | 6th | India | Ahmedabad | 16 Nov 2009 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne and Dhananjaya de Silva | 345 | 4th | Bangladesh | Pallekele | 21 Apr 2021 |
| Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya | 335 | 1st | Pakistan | Kandy | 28 Jun 2000 |
| Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene | 311 | 3rd | Bangladesh | Kandy | 11 Jul 2007 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis | 308 | 2nd | Bangladesh | Chattogram | 31 Jan 2018 |
| Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya | 281 | 1st | Zimbabwe | Harare | 6 May 2004 |
3. Marvan Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara (438 runs) vs Zimbabwe in 2004
Sri Lanka is the only team in the history to have four partnerships in test cricket with over 400 runs. In fact, their third highest test partnership is more than the biggest for India, South Africa, and England. In May 2004, Sri Lanka recorded their third-highest test partnership against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. Batting first, Zimbabwe scored 228 in the first inning. In reply, Sri Lanka batted only once, registered a massive score of 713/3, and declared.
The pair of Marvan Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara added 438 runs for the third wicket to register Sri Lanka’s third highest stand. Atapattu made 249 runs with 36 fours and one six, while Sangakkara made 270 runs with 36 boundaries and two sixes. Trailing by 485 runs, Zimbabwe got all out for 231 runs in their second inning. As a result, Sri Lanka won that game by an inning and 254 runs.
2. Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama (576 runs) vs India in 1997
Sri Lanka’s second-highest test partnership, which is also the second-highest overall, came in a record-breaking match against India in August 1997 at Colombo. This game was recorded as the highest match aggregate for just two innings in a span of five days. Batting first, India declared at a score of 537/8, with three Indian batters scoring centuries each. Navjot Sidhu (111), Mohammad Azharuddin (126), and skipper Sachin Tendulkar (143) made hundreds.
It was a really good score. But what happened next was just incredible. Sri Lanka batted for three days and 271 overs to record the highest test score in history. They declared their inning at a massive total of 952/6. Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama added 576 runs for the second wicket to take Sri Lanka to this gigantic total. Jayasuriya scored 340 runs, while Mahanama scored 225 runs. Aravinda de Silva (126) also scored a century, with a couple of batters making half-centuries. In the end, the game ended in a draw.
1. Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene (624 runs) vs South Africa in 2006
The biggest partnership in test history is registered with the Sri Lankan cricket team. It was recorded in July 2006, when Sri Lanka faced South Africa in Colombo. In the first inning, South Africa got bowled out for just 169 runs, which gave Sri Lanka a chance to bat for a long. That’s what they did. Sri Lanka batted for the next two days and declared their inning at 756/5 in 185.1 overs.
They started poorly with 14/2, but then came the biggest test partnerships of 624 runs between Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, and both batters scored big centuries. Sangakkara was unlucky to miss his triple century and got out for 287 runs. However, Jayawardene recorded the fourth-highest individual score and made 374 runs. Sri Lanka took a first inning lead of 587 runs. South Africa managed 434 runs in their second inning but lost the game by an inning and 153 runs.