The Sri Lankan quartet seems to be peaking

The Indian batting line-up is considered to be the most lustrous in the game today, but going by events over the past couple of years Sri Lanka’s batting too seems to be almost as strong.

Yes, I am aware that the vast majority of the feats have been performed at home or in sub continental pitches. But, the fact remains that Sri Lanka’s batsmen have never really failed abroad. They have continued to be among the runs though they have not been able to feast on the bowling as they do at home or in rather familiar conditions.

The first time I saw the Sri Lankan batsmen in action on their maiden tour of India in 1982, I remember thinking that in style and method they resembled the West Indian approach. I observed then while reviewing the tour that “once they acquire more experience and the rough edges in their cricket are smoothened out they may well pose a threat in international cricket.”

This was when I followed the adventurous exploits of Duleep Mendis and Roy Dias. During his century in each innings in the Test at Chepauk, Mendis reached his first hundred with a six and on 99 the second time around he jumped yards out to hit Dilip Doshi for a four to bring up the second hundred.

Could they temper the swashbuckling approach with the age old qualities of dedication, determination and concentration required in cricket’s traditional format? Siddath Wettimuny provided an early example of this when he batted 636 minutes for 190 against England at Lord’s in 1984. Three years later, Brendon Kuruppu on debut took 777 minutes to compile 201 not out – incidentally Sri Lanka’s first double hundred in Tests – against New Zealand at Colombo.

But the batsman to really combine quick scoring with the ability to play a long innings was Aravinda de Silva. While excelling in limited overs cricket – he was the star of Sri Lanka’s World Cup triumph in 1996, winning man of the match awards in both the semifinals and final – he became an accomplished Test match player too, running up achievements like an unbeaten century in both innings, becoming one of the few at the time to notch up this feat twice and raising the Sri Lankan individual record to 267 which he hit against New Zealand at Wellington.

The stage was now set for the floodgates to open as far as Sri Lankan batting records were concerned. One could never have thought that Sanath Jayasuriya, who played a stellar show in the World Cup triumph with his uninhibited hitting and a few months later clobber the fastest half-century in ODIs, would a year later bat for 800 minutes in a Test match against India at Colombo to score 340 or follow it up with 213 in England in 1998.

By this time, Sri Lanka were figuring strongly in the records section in Wisden having put up the highest total in Test cricket – 952 for six against India at Colombo – and the record partnership for any wicket in Tests – 576 runs for the second wicket between Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama in the same match.

In the new millennium, even as Aravinda and Jayasuriya were in the evenings of their Test careers, along came Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene and the duo became the most dreaded pair in the game.

They had an uncanny understanding when batting together and it did not exactly come as a surprise when the two pieced together the highest partnership in Tests and indeed all first class cricket – 624 for the third wicket against South Africa in Colombo in 2006. Jayawardene surpassed Jayasuriya’s record of 340 by scoring 374 while Sangakkara hit 287.

In recent years, the record breaking has continued unabated. Totals of 760 for seven declared against India at Ahmedabad, 756 for five declared against South Africa at Colombo and 713 for three declared against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo have confirmed that Sri Lanka’s batting has touched mind blowing proportions.

Right now, Sri Lanka hold four of the ten partnership records in Tests for the second, third, fourth and sixth wickets with Jayawardene alone figuring in three. Jayawardene a classy batsman who blends style with substance has crossed the 9000-run mark with six double centuries, while Sangakkara is approaching the 8000-run mark. His latest double century at Colombo put him alongside Wally Hammond with seven with only Brian Lara (9) and Don Bradman (12) ahead of him.

Both have averages in the mid 50s and as if the duo is not enough of a headache for opposing bowlers, Thilana Samaraweera has come along to run up big scores of his own while notching up a career average of fifty plus, while Tillekeratne Dilshan provides sparkle at the top of the order.

The quartet if anything seems to be peaking and that is bad news for bowlers the world over.