CWC Qualifiers: Dimuth Karunaratne hammers his third successive ODI fifty
Dimuth Karunaratne smoked a fine half-century in Sri Lanka's opener at the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers against the United Arab Emirates. The opener ended up scoring 52 off 54 balls, a knock laced with seven boundaries. Notably, Karunaratne made a comeback to the ODI team only earlier this month. This was his third successive ODI half-century. Here we look at his stats.
A well-paced knock from Karunaratne
UAE won the toss and opted to bowl at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. SL were off to a brilliant start as Karunaratne and his opening partner Pathum Nissanka added 95 runs for the first wicket. Surprisingly, Karunaratne was the aggressor in the partnership as he played shots all over the park. He eventually fell prey to left-arm spinner Aayan Afzal Khan.
Third successive fifty for Karunaratne
The home series against Afghanistan earlier this month marked Karunaratne's return to the ODI side after a gap of more than two years. He has since mustered three fifties in four innings as his last four scores read 52, 56*, 52, and 4. The opener showed great form even in the warm-up games as he hammered 111 and 47 against USA and Netherlands, respectively.
A look at his ODI numbers
Karunaratne made his ODI debut back in 2011 against England. However, in this time frame, he has not been a consistent member of this team. He has featured in only 38 matches and scored 930 runs at an average of 31. The tally includes seven half-centuries. He is yet to score an ODI ton as his highest score in the format reads 97.
Sensational run in 2023
Meanwhile, Karunaratne has been on a roll across formats in 2023. In 10 international innings so far, he has mustered 665 runs at an average of 73.88. The tally includes six fifties and two tons as he has missed the 50-run mark just a couple of times this year. 501 of his runs have come in four Tests at 83.5.
