Mahela Jayawardene in Numbers: Breaking Down the Career of Sri Lanka's Legend

Mahela Jayawardene's Test career concluded in style on Monday, as Sri Lanka celebrated a 105-run win over Pakistan in Colombo to secure a 2-0 series victory. 

Although the 37-year-old still plans to take part in the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, per Sky Sports, the Sri Lankan veteran will now depart the five-day game as one of the most decorated players of both his generation, and indeed all time. 

A colossus with the bat—particularly at home—and an innovative leader during his 38-Test stint as captain, Jayawardene leaves behind a legacy of class, integrity and relentless excellence.

"I have played with a lot of pride and passion, and that's the same passion that the fans have, and the same passion that the entire nation has. It's quite easy to play for a country like that," the retiring great said after his final Test, per ESPN Cricinfo.  

That passion is certainly reflected in his Test record.

Mat	Runs	HS	Ave	100s	50s
149	11814	374	49.84	34	50

Indeed, only six men—and only one Sri Lankan—have ever accumulated more Test runs than Jayawardene.

With 11,814 runs in total and 34 hundreds, the stylish right-hander retires with one of the finest Test batting records ever compiled over such a sustained period. 

Player	Mat	Runs	HS	Ave	100s	50s
Sachin Tendulkar	200	15921	248*	53.78	51	68
Ricky Ponting	168	13378	257	51.85	41	62
Jacques Kallis	166	13289	224	55.37	45	58
Rahul Dravid	164	13288	270	52.31	36	63
Kumar Sangakkara	128	11988	319	58.76	37	51
Brian Lara	131	11953	400*	52.88	34	48
Mahela Jayawardene	149	11814	374	49.84	34	50
Shivnarine Chanderpaul	156	11414	203*	51.88	29	63
Allan Border	156	11174	205	50.56	27	63
Steve Waugh	168	10927	200	51.06	32	50

Eranga Jayawardena/Associated Press

Impressively, Jayawardene has reached triple figures against every Test-playing nation, doing so eight times against England and a further six each against India and South Africa. 

Only Australia and Pakistan have limited Jayawardene to an average below 44 in their encounters with the prolific run-getter.

Country	Mat	Runs	HS	Ave	100s	50s
vs. Australia	16	969	105	33.41	2	5
vs. Bangladesh	13	1146	203*	76.40	5	2
vs. England	23	2212	213*	58.21	8	10
vs. India	18	1822	275	67.48	6	8
vs. New Zealand	13	1028	167	48.95	3	6
vs. Pakistan	29	1687	240	32.44	2	10
vs. South Africa	17	1782	374	57.48	6	2
vs. West Indies	12	748	136	44.00	1	4
vs. Zimbabwe	8	420	100*	60.00	1	3

If there's one knock on Jayawardene's career, it's his record away from home, particularly outside Asia.

In 68 Tests on foreign soil, the former captain averaged 39.71, with that number dropping to 31.66 in matches played in Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa.  

But those numbers still aren't enough to tarnish his startling array of accomplishments. 

Extremely difficult to remove once set, Jayawardene has made of habit of turning hundreds into double hundreds like few others in the history of the game. 

Player	200s
Sir Donald Bradman	12
Kumar Sangakkara	10
Brian Lara	9
Wally Hammond	7
Mahela Jayawardene	7
Marvan Atapattu	6
Virender Sehwag	6
Javed Miandad	6
Ricky Ponting	6
Sachin Tendulkar	6

Not to stop there, the Sri Lankan has also been involved in two of the top eight Test partnerships of all time, joining Kumar Sangakkara for a world-record 624-run stand against South Africa in 2006 before enjoying a 437-run partnership with Thilan Samaraweera in 2009.

Partners	Runs	Team	Opposition	Year
Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene	624	SL	SA	2006
Sanath Jayasuriya, Roshan Mahanama	576	SL	Ind	1997
Andrew Jones, Martin Crowe	467	NZ	SL	1991
Bill Ponsford, Sir Donald Bradman	451	Aus	Eng	1934
Mudassar Nazar, Javed Miandad	451	Pak	Ind	1983
Sir Conrad Hunte, Sir Gary Sobers	446	WI	Pak	1958
Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara	438	SL	Zim	2004
Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera	437	SL	Pak	2009
Jacques Rudolph, Boeta Dippenaar	429*	SA	Ban	2003
Neil McKenzie, Graeme Smith	415	SA	Ban	2008

Eranga Jayawardena/Associated Press

Yet, it's leadership that has often separated the good from the great—an area where Jayawardene has truly excelled.

With 18 Test victories as captain, the outgoing Sri Lankan legend sits alongside Sanath Jayasuriya for the most Test wins while in charge of the island nation. 

Captain	Mat	Won	Lost	Draw
Sanath Jayasuriya	38	18	12	8
Mahela Jayawardene	38	18	12	8
Arjuna Ranatunga	56	12	19	25
Marvan Atapattu	18	8	6	4
Angelo Mathews	13	6	2	5
Kumar Sangakkara	15	5	3	7
Duleep Mendis	19	2	8	9

More imposing again is that Jayawardene's performance with the bat while captain was nothing short of remarkable.

Despite his career average sitting at 49.84, the decorated Sri Lankan averaged almost 10 runs more than that during his tenure in charge. 

Mat	Runs	HS	Ave	100s	50s
38	3665	374	59.11	14	10

While that record may not seem truly spectacular, it actually is.

To put it into perspective, only the incomparable Sir Donald Bradman has averaged more than Jayawardene among players with 2000-plus runs as captain

Player	Mat	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50
Sir Donald Bradman	24	3147	270	101.51	14	7
Mahela Jayawardene	38	3665	374	59.11	14	10
Michael Clarke	37	3543	329*	59.05	13	7
Sir Gary Sobers	39	3528	178*	58.80	11	15
Graham Gooch	34	3582	333	58.72	11	16
Brian Lara	47	4685	400*	57.83	14	19
Misbah-ul-Haq	29	2277	135	56.92	3	21
Greg Chappell	48	4209	235	55.38	13	19
Bob Simpson	39	3623	311	54.07	10	16
Peter May	41	3080	285*	54.03	10	15

Breaking Jayawardene's career down by the numbers certainly highlights the profound impression the Sri Lankan has left upon the game.