The art of cricket in Sri Lanka has been well documented and magnificently so with stars in their own right yet they also have formed killer combinations. These century partnerships have often been the primary cause of many a win for Sri Lanka, taking the team home on many occasions. Hence, in this article, we take you through the top 10 Sri Lankan cricketers who have most consistently built century partnerships and the role they played in the game.
1. Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara is by far the most elegant left-handed batsman in the cricketing world, and mainly Sri Lanka has ever witnessed. He has many records to his credit, for instance, holding the record of scoring 12,000 Test runs in the shortest time. Sangakkara was a consistent run-machine, who would take time to settle down and stick it out for an extended period and was very valuable for Sri Lanka’s team. Some of his best cricketing associations are with Mahela Jayawardene; the duo has a record of compiling aggressively fast and furious 19th-century partnerships in Test matches. Their partnership of 624 for the fifth wicket against South Africa in 2006 is the record for any wicket for Test cricket.
2. Mahela Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene who possesses fantastic timing and beautiful close-to-the-body technique was the ideal man for the opening slot along with Sangakkara. Between them, they became one of the great batting partnerships in cricketing history. Even as a captain, one would have loved to see Jayawardene bat, for he was not only an excellent tactician but also shrewd at reading a game. Jayawardene has scored 11,814 runs in Test cricket and 12,650 in ODIs, and part of his achievement was many great partnerships, most notably with Kumara Sangakkara when in 2010 they created a record partnership of 624.
3. Tillakaratne Dilshan
Tillakaratne Dilshan was probably the best example of a utility player that the Sri Lankan cricket team has ever produced. Once a middle-order batsman, Dilshan became one of the most dangerous opening batsmen in contemporary cricket. Significantly, he developed a record opening partnership of 282-run with Upul Tharanga for operated in 2011 ODIs. He has also made other useful knocks, which included a 213-run partnership with Mahela Jayawardene against Zimbabwe in 2004 and a 210 partnership with Kumar Sangakkara against Bangladesh in 2013, which helped Sri Lanka to set up big scores for their team. His approach to the sport, together with his attacking batting style at the top of the Sri Lankan order, turned him into an essential player to build a game around in his years of play in Sri Lanka.
4. Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Jayasuriya is one of the most essential cricketers to have played one-day cricket with his explosive batting style at the beginning of the innings. With the capability of destroying bowling traditions within the first 15 overs, Sayasuriya was the mastermind behind most of the Sri Lankan victories. His 129-run partnership with Romesh Kaluwitharana during the 1996 World Cup changed the tactics used in One Day Internationals. Jayasuriya also developed reliable partnerships; the best-being 237-runs with Marvan Atapattu during the Indian tour in 2000 and 218-runs with Mahela Jayawardene during the tour against England in 2006. Jayasuriya's aggressive approach led to very high scores in his partnerships and always set the day’s monster score to ensure he was one of the most formidable openers globally.
5. Aravinda de Silva
Aravinda de Silva can be described as Sri Lanka’s first cricketing icon and the standout player of the 1996 Cup. He was a great striker of the ball, especially under pressure which made him referred to as a match-winner. In the 1996 World Cup, de Silva was indispensable to Sri Lanka and his stand-out performances could be seen in the last couple of matches. Some of these associations included the 1996 World Cup, where he made a 125-run partnership with Asanka Gurusinha to face India and then a more prominent 97-run combination with Arjuna Ranatunga in the final against Australia to clinch the World Cup. He was thus able to compile valuable partnerships with many players irrespective of the types of bowlers they were or the surface prepared for the match.
6. Angelo Mathews
Angelo Mathews has been a mainstay of Sri Lanka’s middle order for over ten years. On the field, Mathews is considered a cool-headed batsman and excellent time absorber, which positions him as the man responsible for a critical century stand often from a rescue mission. While Mathews has not always got his partnerships right it has been about constructing the big totals and ensuring that Sri Lanka is always well placed in the close games. This came as a boost especially against Australia in 2016 where he and Kusal Mendis posted a valuable partnership of 214 runs that steadied the innings. Mathews scored 181 runs with Dinesh Chandimal against India in 2017 and 149 runs with righthanded batsman Rangana Herath in 2014 during the England tour where he bailed Sri Lanka out of trouble.
7. Marvan Atapattu
Never was there any doubt that Marvan Atapattu’s career would not be without its struggles, but the man stood his ground. Atapattu’s early days were not very remarkable, but he soon grew into one of Sri Lanka’s most reliable and impressive opening batters, especially given his technique and patience. However, his most successful batting companions were Sangakkara and Jayawardene, with whom he formed the backbone of the Sri Lankan team that won many matches in the early years of the current millennium. He made a 175-run partnership with Kumar Sangakkara against Pakistan in 2002 and 151 runs with Mahela Jayawardene in 2005 against India. Also, Sanath Jayasuriya and Atapatte together made 131 runs against West Indies in one-day cricket in the year 2001 which formed a big total ahead of Sri Lanka.
8. Arjuna Ranatunga
Arjuna Ranatunga who captained the Sri Lankan team to the solitary World Cup triumph in 1996 was a brilliant, on-field leader who inspired his teammates. Ranatunga had an excellent technique of moving the ball around and keeping the strike and as such, he would primarily be used to build partnerships. His main strength was setting up the big-hitting alliances, particularly in one-day internationals, and getting his team through nervy run-chases. Arjuna Ranatunga the man, who played a crucial role in the Sri Lankan team capturing the 1996 cricket World Cup was involved in several successful cooperative batting alliances. He had a 126-run stand with Aravinda de Silva against India in the semi-final stages and a 163-run stand with Sanath Jayasuriya in New Zealand in 1996. However, a great partnership of 163 runs with Roshan Mahanama during the 1997 India tour was unique, especially during the pressure-boiler games.
9. Roshan Mahanama
Mahanama’s career spanned the close of the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s, and his main contribution was to Sri Lanka’s middle order. Patient and indomitable, he often brought steadiness to the batting order. Such strategies also had to have his cooperation in guaranteeing that Sri Lanka could turn early losses and misfortunes to its advantage or, conversely, build on promising beginnings. Mahanama’s best partnership was with Sanath Jayasuriya for 576 against India in 1997 for the first wicket; it was the highest partnership for any wicket in Test cricket up to that time. He also shared a valuable partnership of 166 with Aravinda de Silva in the 1995 Australian tour and another 153 with Dilip Vengsarkar in 1993.
10. Hashan Tillakaratne
Hashan Tillakaratne was of exemplary character, a man who never gave up till the end. He was more an accumulator of runs than a stroke player; the latter is always a virtue of Test cricket. Because of how long he could stick around on the crease, Tillakaratne was a perfect foil for other batters more inclined to play away from the body. There are specific notable batting associations in Tillakaratne’s career mainly in Test cricket. His defensive skills in laying a solid platform for the team were a boon for the Sri Lankan team. More to his credit, he and Aravinda de Silva put on 268 against India in 1997 and Sanath Jayasuriya 193 against England in 1998. His capacity to set solid innings again came out clearly when he scored 173 runs with Mahela Jayawardene for Pakistan in 2000.
