SL vs IRE: Sadeera Samarawickrama records his maiden Test century
Sri Lanka wicket-keeper batter Sadeera Samarawickrama recorded his maiden Test ton in the ongoing first Test against Ireland at the Galle International Stadium. The 27-year-old batted with a lot of intent in the lower middle order as he brought up his three figures in only 112 balls. SL declared at 591/6, right after both the batters reached their milestones. Here we decode his stats.
A blazing ton from Samarawickrama
The flamboyant batter generally opens the innings in the shorter format and therefore displayed his array of strokes against a considerably weak bowling attack. Samarawickrama came to the crease when SL were comfortable at 408/6, but they had lost three quick wickets. So he consolidated an unbeaten 183*-run stand with Dinesh Chandimal for the seventh wicket. His knock was laced with 11 fours.
A look at his young Test career
Samarawickrama made his Test debut against Pakistan back in 2017. Since then, he has toured India and played three matches. After failing to impress, he was dropped. This is his first Test match since 2017, and he slammed his maiden ton. He has mustered 229 runs from nine innings at 28.62. This was his first century for SL in any format.
Fourth test centurion for SL batting at number eight
Samarawickrama, who batted at number eight became the fourth Test centurion for SL in that batting position. Only Thilan Samaraweera, Kithuruwan Vithanage and Chaminda Vaas have achieved this feat. His score of 104* is the highest for any batter batting at number eight for SL.
How did the innings pan out?
Dimuth Karunaratne won the toss and decided to bat first. The SL openers added 64 runs before Nishan Madhuska departed. Kusal Mendis and Karunaratne stitched a mammoth 281-run stand for the second wicket. Both batters smoked massive tons. Later, Chandimal and Samarawickrama compiled a 183*-run partnership as the hosts declared at 591/6. Curtis Campher was the pick of the Irish bowlers, with 2/84.
