Mahela Jayawardene (374) and Kumar Sangakkara (287) added 624 runs for the 3rd wicket — the highest partnership in Test cricket history — as Sri Lanka piled up 756/5 declared and skipped to an innings victory.
Sri Lanka vs South Africa in Colombo was played on a flat SSC pitch notorious for producing high scores. South Africa, despite having Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, and Jacques Kallis, had no effective spinner to exploit the conditions. Sri Lanka had two of the finest batsmen of their generation — both in form.
Sri Lanka had reached 219/2 when Jayawardene joined Sangakkara. Both men were in established positions. South Africa's attack — Pollock, Ntini, Nel, and Kallis — had no answer for the flat pitch and two batsmen who simply refused to give their wickets away.
The partnership lasted 2 full days of Test cricket. Sangakkara made 287 — patient, classical, not a stroke wasted. Jayawardene made 374 — surpassing Lara's then-record of 375 briefly before falling 1 short.
When Sangakkara was dismissed, the partnership stood at 624 — breaking the previous record of 576 set by Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama in 1997. The crowd at the SSC chanted their names. South African captain Graeme Smith later said he had never felt so helpless as a captain.
Sri Lanka declared at 756/5. South Africa were bowled out twice. Sri Lanka won by an innings and 153 runs.
Day 2 — the partnership passes 576, the previous record
Sangakkara out for 287 — 624 partnership complete, new world record
Jayawardene's 374 — falling 1 run short of Lara's record
July 27, 2006
Sri Lanka vs South Africa — Jayawardene joins Sangakkara at 219/2
Day 2
Partnership passes 576 — new Test record
Sangakkara out for 287
Partnership ends at 624 — Jayawardene continues
Jayawardene out for 374
1 run short of Lara's record — Sri Lanka 756/5
The highest partnership in Test history and a reminder that two great batsmen at the same time can make an entire bowling attack irrelevant. Jayawardene and Sangakkara's partnership was built on mutual trust, exceptional technique, and two quiet days of pure batting mastery.
624 is the partnership record that cricket's two most statistically complete batsmen of the 2000s built together. In a sport filled with individual records, the shared nature of this achievement makes it particularly meaningful.
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