Mahela Jayawardene: 374 vs South Africa, 11,814 Test Runs, and Sri Lanka's Most Beloved Captain
Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) scored 374 vs South Africa in Colombo (2006) — the highest individual Test score by a Sri Lankan and second-highest behind Brian Lara's 400* until Jayawardene surpassed Lara in his own record. He scored 11,814 Test runs at 49.84 and 12,650 ODI runs. He captained Sri Lanka in 4 World Cup finals: 2007 (T20 WC, lost), 2011 (ODI WC, lost), 2014 (T20 WC, won) and various other ICC events. He finished as one of cricket's most graceful and elegant batters.
Mahela Jayawardene is Sri Lanka's most technically gifted batter — known for an elegant cover drive that is frequently cited as the most beautiful shot in modern cricket. He scored 11,814 Test runs at 49.84 and captained Sri Lanka in some of the most significant matches in the nation's cricket history.
The 374
Jayawardene's 374 against South Africa at the SSC, Colombo on 28–29 July 2006 was made in the context of his 624-run partnership with Sangakkara (see above). He batted for 752 minutes on 540 balls, hitting 43 fours and 1 six. At the time of the innings, 374 was the second-highest individual Test score ever (behind Lara's 400*). Sri Lanka declared at 756/5 dec. The innings was significant: Jayawardene broke Gary Sobers's 365* which had stood for 36 years as West Indies' record — and it remains the highest Test score by any player from Asia.
World Cup Finals
Jayawardene played in 2 ODI World Cup finals: the 1996 final (won, scoring 23) and the 2011 final at Wankhede (103* on the losing side). His 103* in the 2011 final — while Sri Lanka were effectively beaten when Dhoni finished the match — is one of the most dignified innings in a losing World Cup final. In T20 cricket, he captained Sri Lanka to the 2014 T20 World Cup title vs India in Dhaka. He also captained in the 2007 inaugural T20 WC final (lost to India in Johannesburg). He remains the only captain to have played in 4 consecutive ICC tournament finals (2007 T20 WC, 2011 ODI WC, 2012 T20 WC, 2014 T20 WC).
Frequently asked questions
How did Sri Lanka become a Test nation in 1982, and what is their complete progression from underdogs to ICC tournament winners?
Sri Lanka's cricket history: from 1982 Test status to 2014 T20 World Cup champions. Sri Lanka was admitted to the ICC as a Full Member and played their inaugural Test vs England in February 1982 at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo. They lost the Test but their performance (particularly Duleep Mendis's batting) impressed the cricketing world. Early Test years (1982–1992): Sri Lanka struggled — their home pitches produced significantly different results from away conditions. They beat India in their 14th Test (1985 Colombo) and had occasional wins, but were ranked at the lower end of Test nations. Muttiah Muralitharan's debut came in 1992. The 1996 revolution: the WC win was the watershed moment — described in the separate Sri Lanka 1996 WC article. The golden generation (1994–2014): Muralitharan (800 wickets, retired 2010), Sangakkara (12,400 Test runs), Jayawardene (11,814 Test runs), Arjuna Ranatunga (5,105 Test runs), Chaminda Vaas (355 Test wickets), Lasith Malinga (T20 legend). This generation produced: 1996 WC title, 2007 T20 WC final (lost to India), 2009 T20 WC title (won by Pakistan, but SL reached semi-finals), 2011 WC final (lost to India), 2012 T20 WC final (lost to WI), 2014 T20 WC final (won vs India). ICC championship wins: SL won the ICC T20 World Cup in 2014 — their second ICC major title. They reached 4 ICC knockout finals in successive tournaments under Jayawardene's captaincy. Decline (2015–present): The retirement of the golden generation (Murali 2010, Dilshan 2016, Sangakkara 2015, Jayawardene 2015) left Sri Lanka without a replacement pipeline. They have not won an ICC event since 2014.