5 biggest run fests in Test cricket since 2000

A jubilant Younis Khan after his triple century

#1 Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, 1st Test, Karachi, 2009

The pitch curated for the 1st Test of Sri Lanka’s tour of Pakistan turned out to be a paradise for batsmen and a graveyard for bowlers. Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first on a bright and sunny morning.

Debutant Tharanga Parnavitana succumbed to Umar Gul’s out-swinger. Kumar Sangakkara played a gritty hand of 70 runs. Nonetheless, it was the 437-runs stand between Mahela Jayawardena and Thilan Samaraweera that shepherded the Lankans to the mammoth score of 644/7.

Runs haemorrhaged from the blades of Pakistani batsmen as well. The sub-continent team replied back with a total of 765/6 in their first innings. Younis Khan played a captain’s hand and racked up a patient knock of 313 runs in 568 balls which spanned nearly 13 hours.

Kamran Akmal also chipped in with a blistering knock of 158 runs in 184 balls. Sri Lanka lost a few wickets in their second innings, but the match, by then, was already headed for a draw.

Brief Scores

Sri Lanka, 1st innings: 644/7 dec, Mahela Jayawardena 240, Thilan Samaraweera 231; Danish Kaneria 3/170, Shoaib Malik 2/140

Pakistan, 1st innings: 765/6 dec, Younis Khan 313, Kamran Akmal 158*; Dilhara Fernando 2/124, Mahela Jayawardena 1/41

Sri Lanka, 2nd innings: 144/5, Kumar Sangakkara 65, Thilan Samaraweera 24*; Danish Kaneria 2/35, Umar Gul 2/41