Mendis becomes joint-fastest to 50 Test wickets among SL bowlers
Sri Lanka defeated Ireland by an innings and 280 runs in the first Test match at the Galle International Stadium. The match was wrapped up in three days, and SL registered a dominant win in their first-ever Test against Ireland. Among many stars, spinner Ramesh Mendis reached his milestone of 50 Test wickets and was the star in the second innings. Here's more.
A well-planned spell from Ramesh Mendis
Mendis was not at his best on Day 2 but a day later became Ireland's primary threat. He removed Peter Moor first as he ended up handing a catch to the short leg. Curtis Campher was also dismissed in the same manner. While Andy McBrine edged one to the first slip. Lastly, he got George Dockrell plumb in front for his fourth scalp.
Joint-fastest to 50 Test wickets among SL bowlers
When he dismissed McBrine, he reached the milestone of completing 50 Test wickets. He became the 23rd Sri Lankan to achieve this feat. He also reached the milestone in only 11 matches, equalling Dilruwan Perera's record. However, in terms of innings, Ramesh (22 innings) is the second-fastest. He is only behind Ajantha Mendis (19 innings). Perera reached the milestone in 22 innings.
A look at his overall numbers
Courtesy of the four-wicket haul, the 27-year-old spinner has raced to 51 wickets in 11 Test matches at an average of 27.88. He owns three five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket match haul against WI. He made his Test debut in 2021 against England at Galle. Ramesh relishes playing at Galle and has scalped 44 wickets at this venue in only eight Tests at 23.65.
How did the match pan out?
SL batted first and courtesy of centuries from Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal and Sadeera Samarawickrama, they posted a mammoth 591/6d. Jayasuriya ran through the Ireland batting order and finished with 7/53 as the visitors folded for 143. Following SL's score in the second innings, Ireland were bundled out for 168. SL spinners Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh combined to scalp seven wickets.
