Dimuth Karunaratne races past 15,000 FC runs: Decoding his stats
Veteran Sri Lankan opener Dimuth Karunaratne has raced past 15,000 runs in First-Class cricket. The southpaw accomplished the milestone during the third innings of the ongoing Test series opener against hosts Bangladesh in Sylhet. Karunaratne entered the contest, requiring 38 runs to get the mark. While he could only manage 17 runs in SL's first innings, Karunaratne reached the landmark in his second outing.
A gutsy fifty from Karunaratne
SL were off to a terrible start in their second outing, having been reduced to 64/4. Karunaratne then joined his skipper Dhananjaya de Silva in the middle as the duo consolidated with a 49-run stand. Though the former was watchful, he also played some fine shots. He eventually fell to Shoriful Islam, having scored a 101-ball 52 (7 fours, 1 six).
Sensational stats in FC cricket
Playing his 201st match in FC cricket, Karunaratne has raced to 15,031 runs at an average of over 46. The tally now includes 67 fifties and 47 tons with 244 being his best score. While he made his maiden appearance in the format in November 2008, the southpaw received his maiden Test cap four years later, in November 2012.
1,000 Test runs vs Bangladesh
During the course of the game, the southpaw also raced past 1,000 Test runs against Bangladesh (now 1,051). He averages 47.77 against the opposition as the tally includes three tons and five fifties. Playing his 90th Test match, Karunaratne has raced to 6,809 runs at an average of 41.26. Besides slamming 36 fifties, he has hammered 16 centuries in Test cricket.
Fifth-highest run-getter for Sri Lanka in Test cricket
Karunaratne, who stepped down as SL's Test captain earlier this year, is SL's fifth-highest run-getter in the format. He is only behind players like Kumar Sangakkara (12,400), Mahela Jayawardene (11,814), Angelo Mathews (7,529), and Sanath Jayasuriya (6,973) in terms of Test runs. Among active SL players, only Mathews has scored more runs in this format.
How has the match proceeded?
SL were reeling at 57/5 while batting first before centurions Kamindu Mendis (102) and de Silva (102) helped them compile 280. Bangladesh could only manage 188 as Taijul Islam (47) was their only batter to score 30-plus. Vishwa Fernando claimed four wickets, helping SL earn a 92-run first-innings lead. SL have gone past the 110-run mark in the third innings, having lost five wickets.
