NEWS
Follow UsOn September 1 (Sunday), Sri Lanka’s opener and stalwart in red-ball cricket, Dimuth Karunaratne, went past Sanath Jayasuriya’s tally of 6973 runs to become the fourth-highest run scorer for Sri Lanka in Tests.
With Sri Lanka struggling at 43/2 against England, all hopes were on Karunaratne to resurrect the team’s position in the Lord’s Test. The left-hander forged a 17-run partnership alongside Prabath Jayasuriya, with the two batting 13 overs to avoid any late casualty on day three. The two started day four on similar lines, batting time and soaking all the pressure.
Karunaratne survived a close scare when he took off for a non-existent run after hitting the ball towards the short midwicket fielder. However, Olly Stone couldn’t find the stumps before Karunaratne decided ‘enough was enough’ at Lord’s and took the attack to the English pacers.
The left-hander first took a particular liking towards Gus Atkinson’s pace, with three boundaries in the 30th over of the second innings, which took him from 29 (74) to 42 (79), and in the process, surpassing Jayasuriya’s Test tally of 6973 runs.
Not only did he reach a well-deserved half-century, but it was also the 53rd 50+ score for the Sri Lankan opener - the fifth-most 50+ score in this century (2000 onwards) for all openers.
However, Karunaratne would be disappointed with the way his stay at the crease ended, with a tickle down the leg side, having done all the hard work, with a 129-ball 55 in the second innings.
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