Stats: Kumar Sangakkara overtakes Brian Lara to become 5th highest run-scorer in Test cricket

Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara’s numbers as a Test match player seem to be getting better and better by the day. Sangakkara, who goes about his business without attracting too much attention, is now 5th on the list of batsmen with most Test runs having surpassed West Indian great Brian Lara during the 2nd Test against Pakistan.

Sangakkara made his Test debut against South Africa at the age of 22 as a wicketkeeper-batsman, but it soon became apparent that he had enough quality to get into the side as a batsman alone. Yet Sri Lanka continued using the southpaw as their gloveman, as it gave them the chance to play an extra batsman or bowler depending on the conditions. The workload, though, of having to contribute runs at the top of the order and wicket-keeping for long hours in the field eventually took a toll on him, and he gave up the gloves for good in 2008.

Giving up wicket-keeping duties has benefitted him enormously: he averages a staggering 70.20 from the 80 Tests that he hasn’t had to stand behind the stumps in, as opposed to an average of 40.48 when wicket-keeping.

His consistency over the last 2-3 years, in particular, has been Bradmanesque, and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if he overtakes a couple of others in the run charts before retiring. The biggest question for him, though, is whether he has the motivation to carry on playing for another 2-3 years especially with Mahela Jayawardene, his best mate, hanging up his boots.

Here are the top 10 run-getters in Test cricket:

Player	Country	Matches	Runs	Average
Sachin Tendulkar	India	200	15921	53.78
Ricky Ponting	Australia	168	13378	51.85
Jacques Kallis	South Africa	166	13289	55.37
Rahul Dravid	India	164	13288	52.31
Kumar Sangakkara	Sri Lanka	128*	11983	58.94
Brian Lara	West Indies	131	11953	52.88
Mahela Jayawardene	Sri Lanka	149*	11809	49.95
Shivnarine Chanderpaul	West Indies	156	11414	51.88
Allan Border	Australia	156	11174	50.56
Steve Waugh	Australia	168	10927	51.06

Note: Stats updated till August 16, 2014

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