Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene [Images] by adding 624 runs for the third wicket in the Colombo Test against South Africa [Images] established and broke many records. We take a look: This is now the highest partnership for any wicket in all first-class cricket obliterating the previous highest of 577 runs for the fourth wicket between Vijay Hazare and Gul Mahomed for Baroda v Holkar in 1946-47. Incidentally the previous highest partnership for the third wicket was of 467 runs between Andrew Jones and Martin Crowe for New Zealand [Images] against Sri Lanka [Images] at Wellington in 1990-91.
The following table lists the highest partnerships in all first-class cricket matches:
Highest partnerships in first-class cricket
| Runs | Wkt | Batsmen | Teams | Venue | Season |
| 624 | 3rd | KC Sangakkara & DPMD Jayawardene | Sri Lanka v South Africa | Colombo SSC | 2006 |
| 577 | 4th | VS Hazare & Gul Mahomed | Baroda v Holkar | Baroda | 1946-47 |
| 576 | 2nd | ST Jayasuriya & RS Mahanama | Sri Lanka v India | Colombo RPS | 1997-98 |
| 574* | 4th | FMM Worrell & CL Walcott | Barbados v Trinidad | Port-of-Spain | 1945-46 |
| 561 | 1st | Waheed Mirza & Mansoor Akhtar | Karachi Whites v Quetta | Karachi | 1976-77 |
| 555 | 1st | P Holmes & H Sutcliffe | Yorkshire v Essex | Leyton | 1932 |
| 554 | 1st | JT Brown & J Tunnicliffe | Yorkshire v Derbyshire | Chesterfield | 1898 |
| 502* | 4th | FMM Worrell & JDC Goddard | Barbados v Trinidad | Bridgetown | 1943-44 |
The previous highest partnership for any wicket in Test cricket was of 576 runs for the second wicket between Sanath Jayasuriya [Images] and Roshan Mahanama for Sri Lanka against India at Colombo (RPS) in 1997-98.
Highest partnerships in Test cricket
| Runs | Wkt | Batsmen | For | Vs | Venue | Season |
| 624 | 3rd | K Sangakkara | DPMD Jayawardene | SL | SA | Colombo (SSC) | 2006 |
| 576 | 2nd | ST Jayasuriya | RS Mahanama | SL | Ind | Colombo (RPS) | 1997-98 |
| 467 | 3rd | AH Jones | MD Crowe | NZ | SL | Wellington | 1990-91 |
| 451 | 3rd | Mudassar Nazar | Javed Miandad | Pak | Ind | Hyderabad (Niaz) | 1982-83 |
| 451 | 2nd | WH Ponsford | DG Bradman | Aus | Eng | The Oval | 1934 |
| 446 | 2nd | CC Hunte | GStA Sobers | WI | Pak | Kingston [Images] | 1957-58 |
| 438 | 2nd | MS Atapattu | KC Sangakkara | SL | Zim | Bulawayo (QSC) | 2003-04 |
| 429* | 3rd | JA Rudolph | HH Dippenaar | SA | Ban | Chittagong | 2002-03 |
| 413 | 1st | MH Mankad | Pankaj Roy | Ind | NZ | Madras (Corp) | 1955-56 |
| 411 | 4th | PBH May | MC Cowdrey | Eng | WI | Edgbaston | 1957 |
| 410 | 1st | V Sehwag | RS Dravid | Ind | Pak | Lahore [Images] (Gaddafi) | 2005-06 |
| 405 | 5th | SG Barnes | DG Bradman | Aus | Eng | Sydney | 1946-47 |
Highest third-wicket partnerships in Test cricket
| Runs | Batsmen | For | Vs | Venue | Season |
| 624 | K Sangakkara | DPMD Jayawardene | SL | SA | Colombo (SSC) | 2006 |
| 467 | AH Jones | MD Crowe | NZ | SL | Wellington | 1990-91 |
| 451 | Mudassar Nazar | Javed Miandad | Pak | Ind | Hyderabad (Niaz) | 1982-83 |
| 429* | JA Rudolph | HH Dippenaar | SA | Ban | Chittagong | 2002-03 |
| 397 | Qasim Omar | Javed Miandad | Pak | SL | Faisalabad | 1985-86 |
| 370 | WJ Edrich | DCS Compton | Eng | SA | Lord's | 1947 |
| 352* | Ijaz Ahmed | Inzamam-ul-Haq [Images] | Pak | SL | Dhaka | 1998-99 |
This partnership is also the highest for any wicket against South Africa obliterating the 385-run stand between Steve Waugh and Greg Blewett for Australia [Images] at Johannesburg in 1996-97.
Highest partnership in Test cricket against each country
| Opponent | Runs | Wkt | Batsmen | For | Venue | Season |
| Australia | 382 | 2nd | L Hutton | M Leyland | Eng | The Oval | 1938 |
| Bangladesh | 429* | 3rd | JA Rudolph | HH Dippenaar | Saf | Chittagong | 2002-03 |
| England [Images] | 451 | 2nd | WH Ponsford | DG Bradman | Aus | The Oval | 1934 |
| India | 576 | 2nd | ST Jayasuriya | RS Mahanama | SL | Colombo (RPS) | 1997-98 |
| New Zealand | 413 | 1st | MH Mankad | Pankaj Roy | Ind | Madras (Corp) | 1955-56 |
| Pakistan | 446 | 2nd | CC Hunte | GStA Sobers | WI | Kingston | 1957-58 |
| South Africa | 624 | 3rd | K Sangakkara | DPMD Jayawardene | SL | Colombo (SSC) | 2006 |
| Sri Lanka | 467 | 3rd | AH Jones | MD Crowe | NZ | Wellington | 1990-91 |
| West Indies [Images] | 411 | 4th | PBH May | MC Cowdrey | Eng | Edgbaston | 1957 |
| Zimbabwe | 438 | 2nd | MS Atapattu | KC Sangakkara | SL | Bulawayo (QSC) | 2003-04 |
Sangakkara and Jayawardene provided only the second instance of two batsmen making 250-plus scores in the same innings.
| Batsmen | For | Score | Vs | Venue | Season |
| CC Hunte (260) & GStA Sobers (365*) | WI | 790-3d | Pak | Kingston | 1957-58 |
| KC Sangakkara (287) & DPMD Jayawardene (315*) | SL | 485-2 | SA | Colombo (SSC) | 2006 |
Highest first innings leads
The 587-run lead that Sri Lanka got over South Africa is the highest lead for any side batting second in a Test. The details :
| Lead | For | Vs | Venue | Season |
| 587 | SL (756-5d) | SA (169) | Colombo (SSC) | 2006 |
| 509 | SA (682-6d) | Eng (173) | Lord's | 2003 |
| 485 | SL (713-3d) | Zim (228) | Bulawayo | 2003-04 |
| 465 | SL (555-5d) | Ban (90) | Colombo (SSC) | 2001-02 |
| 462 | WI (790-3d) | Pak (328) | Kingston | 1957-58 |