Jayawardene and Sangakkara: the ODI story

Mahela Jayawardene made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in 1998. He did not have a great start to his career. The first-ten matches produced only 122 runs. During this time he missed as many matches as he played since the Sri Lankan team had stalwarts like Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Aravinda de Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga and Roshan Mahanama. Everything changed a year later in Adelaide where Jayawardene crafted a magnificent match-winning hundred against England. Afterwards he was a fixture in the Sri Lankan team until World Cup 2015.

Kumar Sangakkara made his debut a couple of years later. He had a better start but a poor run cost him his place during 2001. He came back strongly and the two wonderful cricketers formed the backbone of the Sri Lankan batting until World Cup 2015.

It is not often that both batsmen failed. The numbers are enumerated later. But they have achieved what very few batting pairs have, other than Australia: A share of the ICC Champions Trophy 2002, World T20 champions in 2014 and World Cup finalists in 2007 and 2011. Let us see what Jayawardene and Sangakkara achieved as individuals and as a pair during their illustrious careers.

1. Career Summary (Singly & together: Player & Captain)

1a. As a Player
Batsman	ODIs	Inns	Runs	Balls	S/R	RpI	Index
DPMD Jayawardene	448	418	12650	16020	79.0	30.26	23.90
KC Sangakkara	404	380	14234	18048	78.9	37.46	29.54
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1b. As a Pair
Batsman	ODIs	Both	Wins	Win-%	Contributed Matches
DPMD Jayawardene	448	367	204	55.6	121
KC Sangakkara	404	367	204	55.6	121
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1c. As a Captain
Batsman	ODIs	Wins	Win%	Inns	Runs	Balls	S/R	RpI
DPMD Jayawardene	123	69	56.1	117	3352	4118	81.4	28.6
KC Sangakkara	44	27	61.4	43	1756	2083	84.3	40.8
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1d. Share of team runs/balls
Batsman	Runs	TeamRuns	Run-%	Balls	TeamBalls	Ball-%	Rel Index
DPMD Jayawardene	12381	86511	14.3%	15736	111705	14.1%	101.9%
KC Sangakkara	13975	78693	17.8%	17715	100344	17.7%	100.7%

Jayawardene played more matches but compiled fewer runs. This is clearly shown by the RpI value of Sangakkara, which, at 37.46 is nearly 25% better than Jayawardene's. The strike rates are virtually identical. Thus the Batting Index, which is a simple product of the RpI and S/R stands at 24 and 29.5 respectively for Jayawardene and Sangakkara.

Sangakkara's career aggregate stands at 14,234, second only to Sachin Tendulkar. Does any current player have a chance of breaking this? Hashim Amla is 32 and he is unlikely to play ODIs beyond another five years. He may not even get to 10,000. AB de Villiers is 31 and has scored 7900-plus runs. He may not play long enough to overhaul Sangakkara, looking at his commitments on the T20 circuit. It is possible that de Villiers may overhaul Jayawardene though. So it looks likely that only Virat Kohli will cross Sangakkara's tally.

Jayawardene and Sangakkara played together in 369 matches and Sri Lanka won 55% of these matches. Since they missed very few matches there is no comparison point. Either or both of them contributed in 122 of these matches, around a third. In 77 of these matches they scored centuries either individually or together. Jayawardene crossed hundred three times when Sangakkara was not playing and Sangakkara did the same four times in Jayawardene's absence. It is not surprising to note that Sri Lanka won 57 of these matches (74%).

In 43 of these matches both Jayawardene and Sangakkara failed and were dismissed for aggregate score of 20 or less. Surprisingly, Sri Lanka won 18 of these matches.

Jayawardene led Sri Lanka in almost thrice the number of matches as Sangakkara. As a captain both of them out-performed their own numbers by 25-30%. Jayawardene's win percentage was slightly lower at 57.1% as compared to 61.4% but that was across plenty more matches. Jayawardene took Sri Lanka to the 2007 World Cup infal and Sangakkara, to the 2011 final.

Jayawardene scored 14.4% of his team runs, which is par for a top-order batsman. Sangakkara scored 17.8% of the team runs, which is above par: Only Tendulkar and Brian Lara have higher percentage figures amongst the top-10 batsmen. Sangakkara has scored over 20% of his team runs over the last 15 or so matches.

I have presented above a composite graph combining their careers. Their scores in the concerned match are posted in opposite directions so that their contributions can be seen together. During 1998-2000, only Jayawardene played for Sri Lanka, that too sporadically. This is clear on the graph. Then Sangakkara started his career and either of the two batsmen played in all but nine of the 421 matches Sri Lanka played during these 14 years.

The three matches circled are the ones in which Jayawardene and Sangakkara scored 200 or more runs. Surprisingly, in one match against India in 2005 they scored 209 and yet Sri Lanka lost. During 2011 they scored 213 runs against England and Sri Lanka won. Similarly, during 2013 they scored 211 runs against South Africa and won.

2. Batting Position performance analysis

2a. Opening position
Batsman	Inns	Runs	Balls	S/R	RpI	Index	OPP Runs	OPP Avge
DPMD Jayawardene	34	1376	1505	91.4	40.47	37.00	2007	59.0
KC Sangakkara	19	724	894	81.0	38.11	30.86	592	31.2
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2b. Middle Order (3 & 4)
Batsman	Inns	Runs	Balls	S/R	RpI	Index
DPMD Jayawardene	262	8208	10537	77.9	31.33	24.40
KC Sangakkara	303	12098	15162	79.8	39.93	31.86
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2c. Late Order
Batsman	Inns	Runs	Balls	S/R	RpI	Index	TeamRuns	BatRuns %
DPMD Jayawardene	117	2797	3694	75.7	23.91	18.10	9712	28.8%
KC Sangakkara	51	1153	1659	69.5	22.61	15.71	4154	27.8%
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2d. Best BatPos analysis
Batsman	AvgeBatPos	BestBatPos	BBP-Inns	BBP-Runs	BBP-RpI	CareerRuns	BoundaryRuns	Boundary%
DPMD Jayawardene	4.10	4	216	6830	31.62	12381	4818	38.9%
KC Sangakkara	3.51	3	234	9611	41.07	13975	5912	42.3%

Let us move on to the analysis of the batting positions. Both Jayawardene and Sangakkara opened in a few matches, Jayawardene more than Sangakkara. Jayawardene was a far more effective opening batsman than Sangakkara. His RpI was slightly higher and strike rate much better. His batting index was 37 against Sangakkara's 30. The average opening partnership was also nearly twice that of Sangakkara's opening partnerships. Just for the record, Jayawardene and Sangakkara never opened together in an ODI match.

It is obvious that the reverse would happen in the middle order where Sangakkara was king. His RpI was 30% higher and his strike rate was slightly better.

Jayawardene batted more often with the lower order and was slightly more effective. The best batting position was No. 4 for Jayawardene and No. 3 for Sangakkara. This is the position in which the respective batsmen scored most runs. It is clear that Jayawardene was far more effective as an opener. One wonders why Jayawardene did not open more often.

3. First & Second Innings

	First					Second
Batsman	Inns	Runs	Balls	S/R	RpI	Inns	Runs	Balls	S/R	RpI
DPMD Jayawardene	238	7231	9117	79.3	30.38	175	5150	6619	77.8	29.43
KC Sangakkara	218	8773	11147	78.7	40.24	155	5202	6568	79.2	33.56

While Jayawardene was equally effective in the first and second innings, Sangakkara had better figures in the first innings. But let us not forget that Sangakkara's overall figures are much better.

4. Home / Neutral / Away analysis

	Home					Neutral					Away
Batsman	Inns	Runs	S/R	RpI	Inns	Runs	S/R	RpI	Inns	Runs	S/R	RpI
DPMD Jayawardene	135	4046	77.3	29.97	121	4024	79.6	33.26	157	4311	79.2	27.46
KC Sangakkara	129	4724	77.2	36.62	102	3871	79.5	37.95	142	5380	80.0	37.89

Surprisingly Jayawardene performed much better in neutral locations than home or away. Sangakkara was equally effective in all locations: if anything, his away numbers are the best of the lot.

5. Won / Lost matches

	Wins					Losses
Batsman	Inns	Runs	Balls	S/R	RpI	Inns	Runs	Balls	S/R	RpI
DPMD Jayawardene	215	7605	9029	84.2	35.37	185	4510	6345	71.1	24.38
KC Sangakkara	200	8240	10034	82.1	41.20	162	5407	7193	75.2	33.38

While Jayawardene contributed well in won matches, his contributions in lost matches fell off. However, look at Sangakkara's very good contributions in lost matches.

6. World Cup / Champions Trophy Analysis

6a. WC SF/Finals & CT-Finals
Batsman	Inns	Runs	Balls	S/R	RpI
DPMD Jayawardene	7	333	346	96.2	47.57
KC Sangakkara	7	293	445	65.8	41.86
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6a. Significant matches
Batsman	Inns	Runs	Balls	S/R	RpI
DPMD Jayawardene	18	473	594	79.6	26.28
KC Sangakkara	20	452	675	67.0	22.60
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6a. Early matches
Batsman	Inns	Runs	Balls	S/R	RpI
DPMD Jayawardene	26	868	1020	85.1	33.38
KC Sangakkara	25	1248	1330	93.8	49.92

Both Jayawardene and Sangakkara played in seven important World Cup/Champions Trophy matches. Jayawardene did much better, both in the RpI and strike rate measures. His index is an excellent 45-plus while Sangakkara's is a low 29-plus.

In the middle-level games this trend continues. However in the early matches, Sangakkara has performed much better. One has to conclude that, overall, Jayawardene has done better in the World Cups while keeping in mind that later stages cannot be reached unless someone contributes for the team in early stages.

7. Misc Best/Worst tables (based on runs scored)

7a. vs Best Team
Batsman	Team	Inns	Runs	Balls	S/R	RpI	Index
DPMD Jayawardene	Ind	84	2666	3411	78.2	31.74	24.81
KC Sangakkara	Ind	71	2700	3308	81.6	38.03	31.04
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7b. Best Year
Batsman	Year	Inns	Runs	Balls	S/R	RpI	Index
DPMD Jayawardene	2001	31	1260	1538	81.9	40.65	33.30
KC Sangakkara	2006	33	1333	1682	79.3	40.39	32.01
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7c. Best Streak
	Year	Runs	Balls	S/R	RpI
DPMD Jayawardene	2007	796	867	91.8	53.07
KC Sangakkara	2014	1053	1027	102.5	70.20
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c. Worst Streak
	Year	Runs	Balls	S/R	RpI
DPMD Jayawardene	2003	136	297	45.8	9.07
KC Sangakkara	2001	141	251	56.2	9.40

Both Jayawardene and Sangakkara performed very well against India, scoring more runs against their neighbours than any other team. Taking the RpI will not work in this analytical segment since the number of matches played would be low for some teams.

Jayawardene's best year was during the early years. During 2001 he scored 1260 runs at an excellent strike rate and runs-per-innings figures. Sangakkara had a similar year five years later.

In his best 15-match streak, Jayawardene scored 796 runs during 2007. However Sangakkara finished his career in a burst of glory. His best streak of 15 innings ended with the penultimate match he played. This aggregate of 1053 runs is one of the highest by any player in ODI history. It is safe to say that Sangakkara had the best swan song any ODI batsman ever had.

This is a who's who of top ODI batsmen, barring Viv Richards.

During 2003, Jayawardene had a barren streak of 291 runs. At the beginning of his career Sangakkara had an even poorer streak. It is ironic that this coincided with Jayawardene's best year.

In conclusion:
- Overall Sangakkara had much better figures.
- Sangakkara was the better batsman in the middle order while Jayawardene performed better in the opening position.
- Jayawardene was the more effective captain. Sangakkara had fewer opportunities.
- Outside Sri Lanka, Sangakkara performed more effectively.
- In key World Cup matches, Jayawardene performed very well.
- Not to forget that Sangakkara also kept wickets in most of the matches he played.
- As a pair they were superb. It is possible that Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly delivered for India what these two greats did for Sri Lanka. They will be missed not just by the Sri Lankans, but by all cricket enthusiasts. In the 357 matches in which they batted, they scored 50 or more runs 214 times: That is 60%, something to marvel about.

As I had mentioned in my previous article, this is my final article for ESPNcricinfo, at least for the time being. I will take a six-month break and take stock at the turn of the New Year. I really want to do a tribute to the Test careers of these two gentlemen cricketers. When, and if, I resume writing, that will be the first article. I would be failing in my duties if I do not place on record my heartfelt thanks to ESPNcricinfo, in general and S Rajesh and Sambit Bal, in particular.

What do I say about my readers? I have been privileged, I would even say, blessed, to have the collection of readers over the years. As I have always said, without the readers, I am nothing. You have all been wonderful, inspiring, insightful and rarely has an article gone by without a new idea being floated. I owe all of you everything. Maybe I will take this sabbatical as an opportunity to look at a book (or two) which many of you have been asking for.

I am glad to close with a reference to a wonderful Test series between England and New Zealand. Brendon McCullum is one of a kind. The mould was thrown out after he was cast. He is changing the way Test cricket is played: something the Australians did a decade back. At Headingley, his team, mostly in an attacking manner, came back from 2 for 2, 144 for 5, 177 for 0, 215 for 1, 23 for 2 and 141 for 4. And McCullum's use of Kane Williamson's off-break bowling: Something to behold. And may I ask: Why five Tests against Australia and only two Tests against New Zealand? Why not four and three. Oh! I forgot: Not for the teams outside the Big Three.

Bradman memorabilia
An appropriate image to close the mini-project I initiated a few months back, to bring to life a few lasting images related to Bradman, cricketer extraordinary. It has been one of my most enjoyable tasks and I hope the readers had as much fun as I had. The last image is the scan of the front page of Melbourne Herald after Don Bradman became Sir Donald Bradman during 1949. No award before or after was more deserved.

To view/download the photograph, please click on the link HERE.