Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene walks back to the pavilion after he was bowled out by South Aftrica's Andre Nel for 374 runs, during the third day of their first Test cricket match in Colombo yesterday. - Reuters
COLOMBO (Reuters):
SRI LANKA captain Mahela Jayawardene scored a magnificent 374 and helped break the record for the highest partnership in Test cricket on the third day of the first Test against South Africa yesterday.
Jayawardene's marathon innings, the highest ever score by a Sri Lankan and the fourth highest in the all-time individual innings list, guided his team to a formidable 756 for five declared.
The host's massive score, the second largest in history by Sri Lanka, left South Africa facing a daunting 587-run deficit with 6-1/2 sessions left in the game.
However, the tourist's long fight for survival started well with openers Andrew Hall (13 not out) and Jacques Rudolph (24 not out), standing in for the indisposed Herschelle Gibbs, finishing on 43 without loss at the close.
624-run stand
Jayawardene compiled a 624-run stand spanning 160.3 overs with left-hander Kumar Sangakkara before Hall finally found the outside edge of the latter's bat with a full-length reverse-swinging delivery.
The previous 576-run record set by compatriots Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama against India in 1997 was broken as wicketkeeper Mark Boucher conceded four byes down the leg side off the bowling of left-arm spinner Nicky Boje.
Celebrated with firecrackers around the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, the new milestone was reached with Jayawardene on 278 and Sangakkara on 273. The partnership was also the highest ever stand in first-class cricket.
When he was finally bowled by an Andre Nel delivery that kept low, the 29-year-old Jayawardene, who also passed 6,000 Test runs during his innings, had faced 572 balls, hit a total of 43 boundaries and one six.
His elegant innings was all the more remarkable for the fact that he did not offer South Africa's fielders a single chance and was only rarely beaten, his biggest scare before his eventual downfall being a lbw appeal from Makhaya Ntini that was slipping down the leg side.
Swollen crowd
The crowd had swollen throughout the afternoon as spectators sensed an opportunity to watch Jayawardene break Brian Lara's record Test score of 400. But the carnival atmosphere was punctured when his off stump was knocked back shortly after South Africa took the second new ball.
The previous highest score by a Sri Lankan was the 340 scored by Jayasuriya against India in 1997 at Premadasa International Stadium.
Jayawardene and Sangakkara also became only the second pair in Test history to score 250s in the same innings after Gary Sobers and Conrad Hunte for West Indies against Pakistan in 1957-58.
Personal best
Sangakkara's 287, also a personal best after his 270 against Zimbabwe in 2004, spanned a total of 457 deliveries and included 35 boundaries.
Middle-order batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan, forced to wait more than 11 hours with his pads on in the dressing room, assisted Jayawardene with an industrious 45 during a fourth-wicket stand that yielded 113 runs.
Paceman Dale Steyn proved the most successful bowler, claiming three for 129 from 26 overs, but it was left-arm spinner Nicky Boje who provided the greatest threat throughout the innings.
However, despite maintaining a disciplined line and turning the odd ball sharply, Boje finished wicketless with 0-221 from 65 overs of hard toil.
LEADING TEST PARTNERSHIPS
624 - Kumar Sangakkara & Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) vs South Africa, Colombo 2006
576 - Sanath Jayasuriya & Roshan Mahanama (Sri Lanka) vs India, Colombo 1997-98
467 - Andrew Jones & Martin Crowe (New Zealand) vs Sri Lanka, Wellington 1990-91
451 - Donald Bradman & Bill Ponsford (Australia) vs England, The Oval 1934
451 - Mudassar Nazar & Javed Miandad (Pakistan) vs India, Hyderabad 1982-83
446 - Conrad Hunte & Gary Sobers (West Indies) vs Pakistan, Kingston 1957-58
438 - Marvan Atapattu & Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) vs Zimbabwe, Bulawayo 2004
429- Jacques Rudolph & Boeta Dippenaar (South Africa) vs Bangladesh, Chittagong 2003
413 - Pankaj Roy & Vinoo Mankad (India) vs New Zealand, Chennai 1955/56
411 - Colin Cowdrey & Peter May (England) vs West Indies, Birmingham 1957
Denotes unbeaten
partnership
