Legendary numbers: Comprehensive statistical wrap of Sangakkara's Test career

(Co-written by Jigar Mehta) A remarkable 15-year career came to an end when Ravichandran Ashwin had Kumar Sangakkara caught in the slips for 18 on day four of the second Test between Sri Lanka and India. Sangakkara ended his career with 28,016 international runs to his name, trailing only behind only Sachin Tendulkar. [caption id=“attachment_2405894” align=“aligncenter” width=“380”] File picture of Kumar Sangakkara. Getty[/caption] Sangakkara finished with astonishing numbers and will go down in history as a legend of the game. Here is a complete statistical wrap of his career.

Sangakkara ended up as fifth-highest run-getter in Test cricket with a staggering average of 57.40. Among the batsmen with at least 8000 runs, he has the second best average behind Gary Sobers of West Indies. As a non-wicketkeeper, he scored 9283 runs at 66.78, an average second only to Don Bradman’s 99.94. He was the fastest (in terms of innings) to 8000, 9000, 11,000 and 12,000 Test runs and join-fastest to 10,000 with Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara.

During the course of his career, Sangakkara was often criticised as a flat-track bully who only performed at home. But that was the biggest misconception. He ended up with an average of 53.13 away in Tests. An average higher than the likes of Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, Younis Khan, Rahul Dravid and Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Sangakkara had a special liking towards Pakistan and Bangladesh and he ended up scoring the most runs by any batsmen against the two nations. Against Pakistan, he amassed 2911 runs at 74.64 with ten centuries and 12 fifties while against Bangladesh, he scored 1816 runs at a staggering average of 95.57 with seven hundreds and seven fifties including his only triple century – 319 at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong.

Sangakkara didn’t get many chances to bat overseas in countries like Australia, South Africa and New Zealand but he still ended up with decent figures. He averaged 60.33 in Australia, 41.04 in England and 61 in New Zealand. He scored centuries against every opposition and in every country except the West Indies. South Africa, India and West Indies are the only countries where he didn’t average 40 plus. But to be fair to him, he only played four matches in West Indies. South Africa and India are the places where he really missed out.

In his 15-year career, Sangakkara amassed more than 1000 runs in five years - 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2014. 2000, 2005 and 2008 are the only years when Sangakkara did not average over 40 in Tests. His average was over 50 in ten of the years he played.

Sangakkara was prolific at No.3 in Tests. He scored the most runs in that position– 11,679 and ended up with second highest average of 60.82 behind Bradman’s 103.63. He had most centuries and fifties - 37 and 50 respectively.

Sangakkara was more prolific in the second innings in Tests. He averaged 67.70, third-highest after Bradman (85.55) and Mohammad Yousuf (69.37) (For players with more than 2000 runs). He also averaged a healthy 56.76 in the third innings. However, in the fourth innings he averaged 41.53. Still good, but not quite up to his other numbers.

Sangakkara stands sixth in the list of most runs scored in winning situations. He has the fourth best average (For players to have scored at least 4000 runs in winning cause) of 71.69. Fifty percent of his Test tons have come in a winning cause and Sri Lanka have lost just five times when Sangakkara has managed a hundred plus score.

Sangakkara ended up with 11 double centuries, one less than Don Bradman’s record of 12 in Tests.

James Anderson has Sangakkara’s biggest nemesis, he dismissed him seven times in Tests, most by any bowler. Anderson was also the bowler who dismissed Sachin Tendulkar most number of times – 9.

One of the most striking aspects of Sangakkara was that he got better with age. He averaged 60.19 after turning 35, second only to Younis Khan, who has an average of 62.47. (For players with 2000-plus Test runs after turning 35)

Career Highlights Test cricket: - Most runs by a Sri Lankan batsman in Test cricket (12400 in 134 matches at 57.40) - Only player to score 150+ scores in four consecutive Test matches. - Fastest to 8000, 9000, 11000 and 12000 runs in Test cricket. Also the joint fastest to 10000 runs. - Scored 11 double centuries in Test cricket. Only Don Bradman (12) has scored more. - Scored 38 centuries in Test cricket. Only Sachin Tendulkar (51), Jacques Kallis (45) and Ricky Ponting (41) have scored more. - One of the few players to have scored centuries against all Test countries. - Highest partnership for any wicket – 624 for the third wicket by Kumar Sangakkara (287) and Mahela Jayawardene (374) against South Africa in 2006. - Highest batting average for a subcontinent player, with 1000 runs or more. - Is the only player to aggregate most runs against two opponents in Test cricket – 2911 vs Pakistan and 1816 vs Bangladesh. - Only the second player to score a triple hundred and a hundred in the same Test (319 & 105 vs Bangladesh at Chittagong in 2013-14). Graham Gooch (vs India at Lord’s in 1990) was the first. His match-tally of 424 runs is also the third highest for any batsman in a single Test. - Aggregated 1000 runs in a calendar year on five occasions – 1114 in 2004, 1242 in 2006, 1083 in 2009, 1034 in 2011 and 1493 in 2014. Only Sachin Tendulkar has done so more often (six times). - Became only the second subcontinent player (after Vinod Kambli) to score double hundreds in two consecutive Tests when he notched up 200* and 222* against Bangladesh in 2007. - Only the second player (after Virender Sehwag) to reach his triple hundred with a six (vs Bangladesh at Chittagong in 2013-14). - His 222 runs on the third day of Kandy Test against Bangladesh in 2007 are the most by a Sri Lankan batsman in a day’s play. - Scored 5233 runs between March 2006 and December 2011 in 82 innings without getting dismissed for a duck – most runs between two ducks by any player in Test cricket. - Hit eight sixes against Bangladesh at Chittagong in 2013-14 – most in a Test innings by a Sri Lanka player. Others: - Second most runs by any batsman in international cricket in all formats of the game (28016 in 594 matches at 46.77) after Sachin Tendulkar - Most runs by a Sri Lankan batsman in ODIs (14234 in 404 matches at 41.98). Only Sachin Tendulkar has scored more runs than Sangakkara in ODIs. - Most runs in international cricket in all formats of the game in a calendar year - 2868 runs in year 2014. (1493 in Tests + 1256 in ODIs + 119 in T20Is) - First batsman to score four consecutive hundreds in ODIs - against Bangladesh (105*), England (117*), Australia (104) and Scotland (124) in the 2015 ICC World Cup. - Most number of dismissals in ODIs by a wicket-keeper – Sangakkara has made 482 dismissals (383 catches and 99 stumpings) in 404 matches. - Most stumpings in ODIs – 99.