Follow UsDimuth Karunaratne has decided that he will no longer play the gentleman’s game at the highest level, announcing his retirement from all forms of international cricket after the second and last Test of the two-match series against Australia at Galle, starting February 6th.
Here are the top three records held by the Sri Lankan left-handed batting maestro:
Karunratne, who started his Test career in 2012, has the most runs for a Sri Lankan Test opener. Out of his 7,172 runs, 6,881 runs have come as an opener in 95 matches at an average of 40.01. It is more than any other Sri Lankan opener in Test history.
Sanath Jayasuriya comes second with 5,932 runs in 90 matches as an opener in Tests.
Karunaratne, the 36-year-old Sri Lankan, hasn’t been in great form lately, but there was a time when he was one of the most prolific batters, scoring freely and in large volume.
He has the highest average for a Sri Lankan opener in a calendar year in Tests, averaging 69.38 in 2021, scoring 902 runs in the process.
Karunaratne, one of the most elegant batters in the game, also holds the record for most hundreds in a calendar year by a Sri Lankan opener. He jointly holds this record with Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu. All of them have scored four centuries each in a calendar year as an opener in Tests.