Numbers Game

A colossus who ticked all boxes

Kumar Sangakkara's stunning numbers over the last decade puts him right up among the very best batsmen the game has ever seen

S Rajesh
S Rajesh
20-Aug-2015
Kumar Sangakkara averages 66.78 in the 86 Tests he has played as a specialist batsman; among batsmen with 1000 Test runs, only Don Bradman has a higher average  •  AFP

Kumar Sangakkara averages 66.78 in the 86 Tests he has played as a specialist batsman; among batsmen with 1000 Test runs, only Don Bradman has a higher average  •  AFP

This article has been updated to include all stats after Sangakkara's last Test.
Among batsmen with at least 8000 Test runs, only Garry Sobers has a better average; in matches which he played as a specialist batsman his average is 66.78, next only to Don Bradman's 99.94 among batsmen who have at least 1000 Test runs; his tally of 11 double-centuries in Tests is only one short of Bradman's 12; his 11,679 runs at No. 3 is easily the best, 1155 more than Rahul Dravid's aggregate at that position, in 12 fewer innings; in Test wins he averages 71.69, which is better than all except four out of 41 batsmen who have scored 3000-plus runs in wins; he is the fastest - in terms of innings - to 8000, 9000, 11,000 and 12,000 Test runs; to 10,000 he is joint-fastest, with Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara.
Kumar Sangakkara's list of achievements in Test cricket is so vast they will leave you breathless. When analyzing the career numbers of some players, there tends to be a rider stating that stats don't do them full justice, but that isn't the case with Sangakkara. He ticked most of the boxes over a stunningly successful 15-year Test career, scoring a bucketful of runs in most of the countries he played in, evolving a compact and no-frills technique that served him well against both pace and spin.
Sangakkara needed six innings to get his first 100 Test runs - his first five scores were 23, 24, 5, 25, and 6 - but once he came to grips with Test cricket there was hardly a dip in form. In 2001 - his first full year in international cricket - he averaged 55.11, scoring three hundreds in 13 Tests, and from there on, he hardly had a poor year: from 2001 to 2015, only once did his average in a year dip below 39 - in 2005, when he averaged 32.46 in nine Tests. He was pretty good in the first six years, but the numbers really took off after that: after mid-2006, when he gave up wicketkeeping and started playing as a specialist batsman, he has averaged an astounding 65.65, with 29 hundreds from 74 matches.
From time to time, especially earlier in his career, there were whispers about Sangakkara feasting on the poorer attacks of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh - no player has scored more Test runs against them than him - but he is hardly the only batsman to do so. Tendulkar averaged 96 against them, scoring eight hundreds from 16 Tests, Jacques Kallis averaged 124, and Rahul Dravid 85. Importantly, Sangakkara's numbers are excellent even when omitting those games: excluding those 20 Tests against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, his average is still 52.60. With a cut-off of 5000 runs since 2000, only four batsmen have a better average than that against teams other than Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.
Kumar Sangakkara's Test career
Period Tests Inns Runs Average 100s 50s
 2000 to June 2006  60  100  4456  46.90  9  22
 Jul 2006 onwards  74  133  7944  65.65  29  30
 Career  134  233  12400  57.40  38  52
 Career, excl. Zim, B'desh  114  206  10,048  52.60  29  44
 v Zim, B'desh  20  27  2352  94.08  9  8
Sangakkara's golden period, though, started around 2006, when the Sri Lankan selectors decided to play him as a specialist batsman. He had played as a specialist batsman before that too, but only in 13 Tests, averaging 68.15 in those games. However, the 2006 home series against South Africa was the first time in almost two years that he wasn't playing as a wicketkeeper, and Sangakkara responded by scoring 287 in his first innings of that series, at the SSC, in the process putting together a record-breaking stand of 624 with Mahela Jayawardene.
That series began a golden run which has continued almost uninterrupted over the last nine years. Since the beginning of 2006, Sangakkara has averaged 64.01 in 81 Tests, better than all other batsmen with a cut-off of 500 runs. In 34 series during this period (excluding the ongoing one against India) he has averaged more than 50 in 19, and more than 70 in 15.
Excluding the Tests against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, Sangakkara's average during this period drops by about six runs, but it is still better than everyone else.
Best batting averages in Tests since Jan 2006 (Min 4000 runs)
Player Tests Inns Runs Average 100s 50s
 Kumar Sangakkara  81  144  8578  64.01  30  34
 Younis Khan  62  111  5928  61.11  21  18
 Shivnarine Chanderpaul  73  125  5711  58.87  16  31
 Hashim Amla  81  136  6708  54.53  23  28
 Jacques Kallis  71  121  5837  54.04  23  21
 AB de Villiers  85  139  6490  52.33  18  30
 Michael Clarke  94  166  7556  51.75  26  23
 Mahela Jayawardene  75  132  6508  51.65  21  23
 Michael Hussey  74  127  5640  49.47  16  28
 Sachin Tendulkar  74  126  5598  49.10  16  27
Best Test averages since 2006, excl. Zim & B'desh (Min 3500)
Player Mat Inns Runs Average 100s 50s
 Kumar Sangakkara  70  129  6926  58.20  23  29
 Younis Khan  55  99  5032  56.53  18  16
 Hashim Amla  74  129  6399  55.16  22  27
 Jacques Kallis  67  116  5734  55.13  23  21
 AB de Villiers  80  133  6414  53.89  18  30
 Shivnarine Chanderpaul  65  114  4827  52.46  12  28
 Michael Clarke  92  163  7505  52.11  26  23
 Michael Hussey  72  124  5398  48.63  15  28
 Mahela Jayawardene  66  119  5577  48.49  17  22
 VVS Laxman  64  113  4402  48.37  8  32
Finishing strong
One of the most remarkable aspects of Sangakkara's career is his prolific form in the last couple of seasons before retirement. The last four Tests - two Tests against Pakistan and two against India - admittedly were not great for him personally, but in ten Tests before that, Sangakkara averaged 81.63 and made scores of 319 (against Bangladesh), 221 (versus Pakistan) and 203 (versus New Zealand). Since turning 35, he has scored 2528 runs in 23 Tests, at an average of 60.19. Among the 25 batsmen who have scored 2000-plus Test runs after turning 35, only one, Pakistan's Younis Khan, has a higher average.
Most batsmen - even those in the legends category - tend to undergo a dip in form in their last few Tests. Sometimes that dip continues for several seasons and converts into an irreversible decline in ability. Very little of that has happened to Sangakkara, despite his dip in his final four Tests. In his last 25 Tests he has averaged 64.04, more than eight runs higher than his career average up to that point (55.70). Thanks to his last 25 Tests, his career average went up to 57.40, an increase of 1.70 runs from his average before his last 25 games.
The table below lists the batsmen whose levels have fallen the least in their last 25 Tests. The two batsmen whose stats stand out are Sangakkara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Both have averaged more than 60, which is eight-plus runs higher than their average till that point, and their last 25 Tests pushed their career averages up by more than 1.5. Those two names stand out in the list below, as batsmen who have actually improved significantly on their overall numbers in their last 25 Tests.
There are some others who maintained their averages - Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Waugh brothers, VVS Laxman, Kallis and Lara are in that category - but for most of the others, the last 25 Tests is a period when the numbers have dipped significantly. Ponting, for instance, averaged 33.59 in his last 25, Tendulkar 34.34, Virender Sehwag 35.15, Michael Clarke 36.95 and Viv Richards 38.20. All of them had 50-plus averages going into their last 25 games, which means they underperformed by huge margins for a significant periods of time towards the end. That Sangakkara is an exception makes him truly exceptional.
Batsmen in their last 25 Tests (Min 8000 runs)
Batsman Inngs Runs Ave - last 25 100s Ave - before Ave diff Career ave Ave delta^
 Kumar Sangakkara  48  2818  64.04  9  55.70  8.34  57.40  1.70
 Shivnarine Chanderpaul  43  1949  60.90  5  49.84  11.06  51.37  1.53
 Inzamam-ul-Haq  43  1896  51.24  6  49.18  2.06  49.60  0.42
 Steve Waugh  34  1542  53.17  5  50.73  2.44  51.06  0.33
 VVS Laxman  45  1788  47.05  3  45.71  1.34  45.97  0.26
 Alec Stewart  40  1379  40.55  1  39.36  1.19  39.54  0.18
 Mark Waugh  38  1436  42.23  3  41.73  0.50  41.81  0.08
 Jacques Kallis  41  1955  52.83  9  55.83  -3.00  55.37  -0.46
 Brian Lara  45  2296  51.02  9  53.35  -2.33  52.88  -0.47
 David Gower  47  1656  40.39  4  45.34  -4.95  44.25  -1.09
^ Is the difference between career average and the average before the last 25 Tests
The numbers for Younis Khan and Alastair Cook were not considered as they have not retired yet
Number one at No. 3
No other No. 3 batsmen has come within 1000 runs of what Sangakkara scored at that slot - 11,679, at an average of 60.82. Among batsmen who scored at least 4000 runs at that slot, only Don Bradman has a higher average. With a 3500-run cut-off, Richards (3508 runs, 61.54 average) and Lara (3749, 60.46) averaged more than 60 at No. 3 as well, but Lara played far more at No. 4, scoring twice as many runs at that slot as he did at three. Even among a list of outstanding batsmen who occupied that slot over long periods, Sangakkara's numbers stand out.
Highest Test averages at No. 3 (Min 4000 runs)
Player Inns Runs Average 100s 50s
 Don Bradman  56  5078  103.63  20  10
 Kumar Sangakkara  207  11,679  60.82  37  50
 Hashim Amla  113  5753  56.40  20  26
 Ricky Ponting  196  9904  56.27  32  43
 Rahul Dravid  219  10,524  52.88  28  50
 Rohan Kanhai  90  4689  52.68  13  20
 Younis Khan  83  4055  51.32  13  12
 Ian Chappell  91  4279  50.94  13  22
What's more impressive are the numbers Sangakkara stacked up at No. 3 when he came in to bat after the first wicket had fallen early. In 57 innings when he came in after the opening wicket had fallen before 10, he scored 2969 runs at an average of 54.98. Four of his 11 200-plus scores came from these situations - 287 against South Africa at the SSC (6 for 1), 232, also against South Africa at the same venue (4 for 1), 230 against Pakistan in Lahore (0 for 1), and 211 against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi (0 for 1). Perhaps even greater than all those innings was his unbeaten 156 against New Zealand in Wellington, when he came in at 0 for 1 and scored 156 out of Sri Lanka's total of 268. Similarly, when he came in to bat with the score between 10 and 20, he averaged 56.18, while the average was similar when he came in between 21 and 49. His 192 in Hobart came when he walked in at 15 for 1, and his 203 against New Zealand earlier this year came after the first wicket had fallen at 18.
Sri Lanka have not had great opening pairs over the last decade and more - the average opening stand in the 205 innings that Sangakkara batted at No. 3 was only 34 - but his presence at No. 3 steadied the innings and calmed the dressing-room nerves more often than not.
Sangakkara at No. 3, by point of entry scores
Entry score Inngs Runs Average 100s 50s
 Less than 10  57  2969  54.98  8  12
 10 to 20  41  2247  56.18  7  12
 21 to 49  61  3236  56.77  8  17
 50 to 99  34  2129  73.41  9  6
 100 and above  14  1098  91.50  5  3
 Total  205  11629  61.20  37  50
The overseas challenge
For all batsmen from the subcontinent, the ultimate challenge is to consistently score runs outside Asia, in conditions that aren't so familiar. In that regard, Sangakkara did quite well, and certainly much better than other Sri Lankan batsmen. Sri Lankan batsmen are generally at a disadvantage in this aspect, for they play fewer overseas series than most other teams - between 2003 and 2011, Sri Lanka didn't play a single Test match in South Africa. And even when they tour Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand, they tend to play more two-Test series than India or even Pakistan, thereby giving their batsmen lesser time to adjust to conditions.
Even so, Sangakkara did much better in these countries than all other Sri Lankans. He averaged 60.33 in Australia (though he played only five Tests there in 15 years), 61 in New Zealand (six Tests), 41.04 in England (11 Tests). Where he fell short was in South Africa (35.75 in eight Tests) and West Indies (34 in four Tests) - those two countries, along with India (36.50 in six Tests), were the three places where he didn't average 40. (Click here for Sangakkara's career summary in Tests.) His overall average in five countries outside the subcontinent (excluding Zimbabwe) was 44.58, which is better than the averages of other Sri Lankans in these countries: Aravinda de Silva averaged 39.52, Arjuna Ranatunga 37.96, Marvan Atapattu 35.68, Tillakaratne Dilshan 34.29, Mahela Jayawardene 32.75 - that was the one big differentiator between Jayawardene and Sangakkara - and Sanath Jayasuriya 28.61.
Among the other subcontinent batsmen who played during this era, only two - Dravid and Tendulkar - scored 2000-plus runs at an average higher than Sangakkara's. The fact that Dravid played 63 Tests in these countries compared to Sangakkara's 34, in careers that spanned similar lengths, indicates just how skewed the international scheduling has been over the last decade and more. Despite that disadvantage, Sangakkara put up pretty solid numbers in the limited opportunities he got outside the subcontinent.
Batsmen from the subcontinent in Aus, NZ, Eng, SA, WI (Min 2000 runs)
Batsman Tests Inns Runs Average 100s 50s
 Rahul Dravid  63  117  5420  53.13  13  28
 Sunil Gavaskar  46  81  3868  51.57  15  15
 Sachin Tendulkar  73  128  6007  50.90  18  28
 Javed Miandad  48  78  3340  46.38  9  15
 Saleem Malik  33  51  2001  45.47  4  12
 Kumar Sangakkara  34  66  2764  44.58  7  16
 Inzamam-ul-Haq  44  78  3137  44.18  8  18
 Mohammad Yousuf  33  62  2647  44.11  7  11
 VVS Laxman  57  102  3856  42.37  7  25
 Sourav Ganguly  41  71  2711  41.70  5  15
The pace-spin break-up indicates what a consistent and all-round batsman Sangakkara has been. His average against pace fell outside the subcontinent, but it's still a respectable 44.40. The bowlers he had most trouble against were James Anderson (seven dismissals, average 28.14), Zaheer Khan (six dismissals, average 27), Trent Boult (four dismissals, average 16.75), and, at the very end, R Ashwin (four dismissals, average 5.75). Most of the other bowlers came out second-best against him.
Sangakkara v pace and spin in Tests since Jan 2002
  Outside subcont (excl Zim) Overall
  Dismissals Average Dismissals Average
Pace 45 44.40 115 55.77
Spin 10 53.10 71 66.59
More numbers
28,016 International runs scored by Sangakkara in his career, second only to Tendulkar's 34,357.
2868 International runs scored by Sangakkara in 2014, the most by any batsman in a year.
6554 Partnership runs added by Sangakkara and Jayawardene, the second-highest among all pairs, next only to 6920 by Tendulkar-Dravid. Their 19 century stands is also second best, one short of Tendulkar-Dravid.
2911 Runs scored by Sangakkara in Tests against Pakistan (average 74.64), the highest for a Sri Lankan batsman against an opposition, and the highest for any batsman against Pakistan. Among the 71 instances of batsmen scoring 2000-plus Test runs against a single opposition, Sangakkara's average is second only to Bradman's 89.78 against England.
531 Runs scored by Sangakkara off Saeed Ajmal in Tests. He was dismissed by Ajmal four times, giving Sangakkara an average of 132.75 against Ajmal. Since the beginning of 2002, no batsman has scored more Test runs off a single bowler. (The next-best is 420, by Shane Watson off Anderson.)
2312 Runs scored by Sangakkara in 22 Tests at the SSC, Colombo. Only Jayawardene has scored more runs at a single venue - 2921 at the SSC, and 2382 in Galle.
58.80 Percentage of team runs scored by Sangakkara when he made an unbeaten 100 out of a team total of 170 against New Zealand in Christchurch, the second-highest percentage by a Sri Lankan batsman (after Asanka Gurusinha's 52* out of 82 against India). A week after scoring 100*, Sangakkara made 156* out of 268 in Wellington, a percentage of 58.20.
16 Man-of-the-Match awards in Tests for Sangakkara. Only four players have more: Kallis (23), Muttiah Muralitharan (19), Wasim Akram and Shane Warne (17 each).
With inputs from Shiva Jayaraman

S Rajesh is stats editor of ESPNcricinfo. Follow him on Twitter