Sri Lanka's Milan Rathnayake registers this unique Test batting record
What's the story
Sri Lanka's Milan Priyanath Rathnayake played a composed knock on his debut, helping his side finish on 236 versus England, after the visitors were 113/7 at one stage in Manchester. Day 1 saw SL offer resistance after losing their way. Rathnayake, who came in at number nine, added a half-century-plus stand alongside skipper Dhananjaya de Silva. He ended up scoring 72.
Knock
Rathnayake shines with a superb job for his side
Rathnayake did a superb job to complement Dhananjaya in the 63-run stand. Shoaib bashir broke the stand but Rathnayake wasn't done. He did the heavy lifting for his team with impressive results. He didn't get carried away and picked the right moments to cut loose. He got to his fifty with a six. Bashir dismissed the debutant eventually as the latter tried going big.
Record
Rathnayake breaks Balwinder Sindhu's record
As per ESPNcricinfo, Rathnayake's 135-ball 72 is now the highest by a debutant at No. 9 in Test history. He broke the record of India's Balwinder Sindhu, who scored 71 runs versus Pakistan in 1983. Darren Gough (65 vs New Zealand, 1994), Monde Zondeki (59 vs England, 2003) and Wilf Ferguson (56* vs England, 1948) own the next best scores.
Information
3rd fifty in FC cricket
Rathnayake, who bowls medium pace, hammered his 3rd career fifty in First-Class cricket. He owns 730-plus runs, notching his best career score in the longest format.