England Vs Sri Lanka: The second red-ball match of the three-match Test series between England and Sri Lanka will be played today at the iconic stadium of the Lords Cricket Ground in London. Sri Lanka is trailing 0-1 down in this red ball series after losing thSe first Test match at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester.
To level the series to one all, the visitors, Sri Lanka need to do something special at the venue where they haven’t won a single Test match until now. The Lankans have played 8 red ball matches at Lords. But they haven’t been able to win a single game at this iconic venue in London. So Today, we shall name the batter who has scored the most runs for Sri Lanka at Lords –Â
England Vs Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene Has Scored The Most Runs For Sri Lanka At Lords –Â
The legendary batter of Sri Lanka and the former skipper of that island nation, Mahela Jayawardene is still considered the most prolific batter even today after he retired in 2014. Mahela was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s reaching the newer heights in the arena of International cricket.
Mahela was also offered his services to the Sri Lankan team as a batting consultant. But he resigned from that position after Sri Lanka’s poor show in the T20 World Cup 2024 which was played in the United States Of America and West Indies. The Asian T20 International champions, Sri Lanka didn’t qualify for the super eight round of that ICC mega event of the shortest format.
Mahela had scored the most runs at Lords Cricket Stadium, where the Lankans have failed to win a Test Match until now. He has played six matches and eight innings from 2002 to 2014 at Lords and scored 448 runs for them at that venue. Jayawardene has also smashed the most centuries at Lords.
The former skipper had scored two centuries which is the most by any batter of Sri Lanka at Lords. He has also smashed two half-centuries at that venue in London. This batter was even part of the Test series win in 2014, which was the last time that Sri Lanka had won a red ball series versus England.
Overall Mahela has a batting average of 64.00 and a strike rate of 53.84 at Lords. Jayawardene didn’t smash any sixes at Lords in his career in the red ball format for Sri Lanka. But he still holds the record for scoring the most boundaries at that venue. He had smashed 61 fours at Lords, which is the most by any batsmen from Sri Lankan even today.
Mahela was the fifth-highest run scorer for his country when Sri Lanka won their second red ball series in England in 2014. He had played 2 matches and 2 innings in that series and scored 174 runs to his name. In that series, Jayawardene had an average of 43.50 and a strike rate of 47.67. His best score in that two-match series was 79 runs which he scored from 168 deliveries in the second innings of the second and the last Test match at Leeds.
In the overall Test record, Mahela’s highest score at Lords Cricket Ground was 119 runs in 2006. That magical knock from the former skipper of Sri Lanka allowed their team to draw that red-ball game. Jayawardene had also scored 61 runs in the first innings and he was named as the player of the match for those two good knocks.
Also Read: Did Sri Lanka Win Any Test Matches At Lords?
