Younis Khan surpasses Sachin Tendulkar as leading run-getter against Sri Lanka in Test Cricket
Younis beats Sachin's record against Sri Lanka
Younis Khan became the leading run-scorer in Test cricket against Sri Lanka during the second innings at Galle. Younis has thus gone past Sachin Tendulkar’s tally and has 1998 runs at the end of the first Test. Bharath Seervi analyses Younis’ new record and other statistics.
Younis Khan overhauled Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of 1995 runs to become the most successful Test batsman against Sri Lanka. Younis achieved the milestone when he reached a personal score of 11 in the second innings of the first Test at Galle. In the first innings, he had scored 177 runs. This was Younis Khan’s 25th Test match against Sri Lanka and he reached the landmark in 41 innings. He has now scored 1998 runs in the 41 innings at an average of 52.57 which includes seven centuries and six half-centuries, with a highest score of 313.
Tendulkar used to lead the charts with 1995 runs in 36 innings at an average of 60.45 with nine centuries and six half-centuries with a highest score of 203. Inzamam-ul-Haq occupies the third spot with 1559 runs in 31 innings at an average 59.96. The table below provides the necessary details.
Most runs against Sri Lanka in Test Cricket (1000 or more)
| R | Batsman | M | I | NO | Ave | 100s | 50s | HS |
| 1998 | Younis Khan | 25 | 41 | 3 | 52.57 | 7 | 6 | 313 |
| 1995 | Sachin Tendulkar | 25 | 36 | 3 | 60.45 | 9 | 6 | 203 |
| 1559 | Inzamam-ul-Haq | 20 | 31 | 5 | 59.96 | 5 | 7 | 200* |
| 1508 | Rahul Dravid | 20 | 32 | 1 | 48.64 | 3 | 9 | 177 |
| 1239 | Virender Sehwag | 11 | 18 | 1 | 72.88 | 5 | 3 | 293 |
| 1215 | Mohammad Azharuddin | 17 | 23 | 1 | 55.22 | 5 | 4 | 199 |
| 1166 | Stephen Fleming | 13 | 23 | 3 | 58.30 | 2 | 7 | 274* |
| 1125 | Brian Lara | 8 | 14 | 1 | 86.53 | 5 | 2 | 221 |
| 1090 | Mohammad Ashraful | 13 | 26 | 2 | 45.41 | 5 | 1 | 190 |
| 1078 | Alastair Cook | 13 | 23 | 2 | 51.33 | 3 | 6 | 133 |
| 1064 | Sourav Ganguly | 14 | 24 | 1 | 46.26 | 3 | 4 | 173 |
Among the batsmen with 1000-plus runs against Sri Lanka, Brian Lara has the highest average against them. He has an average of 86.53 in 14 innings, during which he scored 1125 runs with five centuries and two fifties.
Younis has scored seven Test centuries against Sri Lanka. His career best of 313 also came against Sri Lanka. Only Tendulkar has scored more Test centuries against Sri Lanka. Here is a list of Younis’ Test tons against Sri Lanka:
Younis Khan’s Test centuries against Sri Lanka
| Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR | No | I | Venue | Start Date |
| 313 | 568 | 27 | 4 | 55.1 | 3 | 2 | Karachi | 21-Feb-09 |
| 177 | 331 | 15 | 1 | 53.47 | 4 | 1 | Galle | 06-Aug-14 |
| 136 | 198 | 19 | 1 | 68.68 | 4 | 2 | Abu Dhabi | 31-Dec-13 |
| 124 | 215 | 12 | 1 | 57.67 | 3 | 2 | Karachi | 28-Oct-04 |
| 122 | 211 | 12 | 2 | 57.81 | 4 | 2 | Sharjah | 03-Nov-11 |
| 116 | 281 | 9 | 1 | 41.28 | 6 | 2 | Galle | 21-Jun-00 |
| 107 | 250 | 11 | 0 | 42.8 | 7 | 3 | Rawalpindi | 26-Feb-00 |
Among the seven centuries, only one has come in a defeat which was his 107 at Rawalpindi in 2000, coming in his first match against Sri Lanka. In February 2009, he became the first batsman to score a triple century against Sri Lanka in Test matches. He also became only the third player from Pakistan to score a triple century in Test cricket.
Younis’ aggregate against Sri Lanka is his highest against any test team. The only other team against which he has aggregated over 1000 runs in Test Cricket is against India — 1321 runs in 17 innings at 88.06. The lowest average against any team for Younis is 31.83 against Australia. The table below lists Younis’ record against each team in Test cricket.
Team
| M | I | NO | Runs | Ave | 100s | 50s | HS | |
| Australia | 6 | 12 | 0 | 382 | 31.83 | 0 | 3 | 87 |
| Bangladesh | 5 | 7 | 2 | 418 | 83.60 | 2 | 0 | 200* |
| England | 10 | 18 | 0 | 784 | 43.55 | 2 | 3 | 173 |
| India | 9 | 17 | 2 | 1321 | 88.06 | 5 | 4 | 267 |
| New Zealand | 6 | 9 | 1 | 484 | 60.50 | 1 | 3 | 149* |
| South Africa | 14 | 28 | 3 | 990 | 39.60 | 4 | 2 | 131* |
| Sri Lanka | 25 | 41 | 3 | 1998 | 52.57 | 7 | 6 | 313 |
| West Indies | 10 | 19 | 1 | 701 | 38.94 | 2 | 4 | 153 |
| Zimbabwe | 5 | 9 | 2 | 511 | 73.00 | 1 | 3 | 200* |
| Overall | 90 | 160 | 14 | 7589 | 51.97 | 24 | 28 | 313 |
Younis has scored a century against each of the test playing nations except Australia. He has an average of over 50 against Bangladesh, India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. With Younis becoming leading run-getter against Sri Lanka, let us see the top two players with highest aggregates against the other Test teams.
Most runs against each test team (top 2)
| Team | Batsman 1 (Runs and Ave) | Batsman 2 (Runs and Ave) |
| Australia | Jack Hobbs: 3636 at 54.26 | Sachin Tendulkar: 3630 at 55.00 |
| Bangladesh | Kumar Sangakkara: 1816 at 59.69 | Mahela Jayawardene: 1146 at 76.40 |
| England | Don Bradman: 5028 at 89.78 | Allan Border: 3548 at 56.31 |
| India | Ricky Ponting: 2555 at 54.36 | Clive Lloyd: 2344 at 58.60 |
| Pakistan | Kumar Sangakkara: 2707 at 84.59 | Sunil Gavaskar: 2089 at 56.45 |
| New Zealand | Javed Miandad: 1919 at 79.95 | Rahul Dravid: 1659 at 63.80 |
| South Africa | Dennis Compton: 2205 at 53.78 | Wally Hammond: 2188 at 62.51 |
| Sri Lanka | Younis Khan: 1998 at 52.57 | Sachin Tendulkar: 1995 at 60.45 |
| West Indies | Sunil Gavaskar: 2749 at 65.45 | Jacques Kallis: 2356 at 73.62 |
| Zimbabwe | Marvan Atapattu: 1145 at 95.41 | Rahul Dravid: 979 at 97.90 |
(Bharath Seervi is cricket statistician who is obsessed with digging numbers, facts and records related to the game. An active member of Society of Cricket Statisticians of India, he blogs atwww.cricketseervistats.blogspot.com. He can be followed on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/SeerviBharath and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SeerviCricket)