Dinesh Chandimal slams his 16th Test century, joins these veterans
Sri Lanka's Dinesh Chandimal has slammed his 16th Test century. The Lankan batter reached the landmark on Day 1 of the 2nd Test against New Zealand in Galle. Chandimal added a century-plus stand with Dimuth Karunaratne after opener Pathum Nissanka departed early. SL had earlier opted to bat. Chandimal has joined Angelo Mathews, Karunaratne, Marvan Atapattu, and Tillakaratne Dilshan in terms of Test tons.
Chandimal evades early scare with solid knock
Chandimal came to the middle after opener Pathum Nissanka departed in the very first over. The former took his due time to settle down, thereby stabilizing the Lankan innings along with Karunaratne. They took the hosts past 120 in the second session before Karunaratne was dismissed. Mathews then joined Chandimal, who completed a 171-ball century in the 58th over. He was dismissed for 116.
Joint fourth-most Test tons for SL
Chandimal now has the joint fourth-most centuries for Sri Lanka in Test cricket. As mentioned, he has joined Mathews, Karunaratne, Atapattu, and Dilshan with 16 tons. Legends Kumar Sangakkara (38), Mahela Jayawardene (34), and Aravinda de Silva (20) are ahead of them on this list. Notably, only four more Sri Lanka players have 10+ tons in the format.
Maiden century for Chandimal against New Zealand
Chandimal's 116-run knock had 16 fours. He faced 208 balls. Playing his 84th match (150 innings), Chandimal has raced to 5,863 runs at an average of 43.42. In addition to 16 tons, he also owns 29 fifties. As per ESPNcricinfo, Chandimal has raced past 600 fours (613). In nine matches versus NZ (16 innings), he has 727 runs at 45.23 (100s: 1, 50s: 6).
14th century for Chandimal in Asia
Notably, 14 of Chandimal's 16 centuries for Sri Lanka in the longest format, have come in Asia. He averages 49.02 in Asia with 4,167 runs under his belt (100s: 14, 50s: 18). Meanwhile, this was Chandimal's 10th century on home soil.
