In the ongoing 2nd Test match between Sri Lanka and Ireland, Dimuth Karunaratne, captain of the Lankan side, scripted history after he smashed a century at the Galle Stadium.
Ireland, batting first, put 492 on the board, their highest total in red-ball history. In reply, Sri Lanka, who are leading the series 1-0, amassed 357/1 after stumps on day 2. Dimuth Karunaratne gathered 115(133), which included 15 fours.
With the feat, Dimuth brought up his 16th Test hundred and equalled Marvan Atapattu’s record of most red-ball centuries as an opener for Sri Lanka. Before the series, Dimuth had 14 Test hundreds opening the innings, but he also struck a ton in the first Test, where he amassed 179. No other player for Sri Lanka has scored more than ten hundred at the top of the order besides Atapattu, Karunaratne, and Sanath Jayasuriya. Here is the list of most Test centuries for Sri Lanka as an opener.
- Marvan Atapattu – 16
- Dimuth Karunaratne -16
- Sanath Jayasuriya – 13
- Tillakaratne Dilshan -8
- Michael Vandort – 4
The Sri Lanka skipper has played 86 Test games and amassed 6524 runs averaging 41.29. His figures include 16 hundred and 34 fifties. Besides Dimuth, opener Nishan Madushka also smashed a hundred and is unbeaten on 149(234) after play on day 2.