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SL vs AUS | Prabath Jayasuriya enlists himself in the top 5 of a unique list

Sri Lanka is playing the second Test of the home series against Australia. After an average performance in the first match, the hosts are giving a tough fight to the visitors in this match.

On the back of two brilliant centuries by Marnus Labuschange (104 off 156) and Steve Smith (145 off 272), Australia put up 364 runs in their First Innings. The Sri Lankans, in reply, are 380 for 4 at the end of 125 overs (at the time of writing this article). Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne (86 off 165) and Kusal Mendis (85 off 161) have laid a strong foundation on which the middle order is trying to capitalize at the moment.

Speaking of Sri Lanka’s bowling effort, the pick of their bowlers was the debutant Prabath Jayasuriya. The left-arm spinner picked up 6 wickets for 118 runs in the innings. With the figure, he got himself into the fifth spot of a unique list.

Jayasuriya now has the fifth-best figures for a left-arm spinner in debut innings of Test cricket. Here is a list of the top five bowlers.

1. Alfred Valentine (West Indies), 1950: The first man on the list has been holding the position for 72 long years now. In his debut match against England, AL Valentine snapped 8 wickets for 104 runs from 50 overs in the first innings. 

In the second innings, the bowler picked up 3 wickets for 100 runs finishing the match with 11 wickets for 204 runs. 

Despite the brilliant performance by Valentine in his debut match, West Indies lost the match by a margin of 202 runs.

2. Praveen Jayawickrama (Sri Lanka), 2021: Praveen Jayawickrama made his debut in 2021 against Bangladesh. In his first bowling innings in Test cricket, Jayawickrama picked up 6 wickets for 92 runs from 32 overs.

He also did a brilliant job in the team’s second bowling innings. He picked up 5 wickets in the innings, conceding 86 runs from his 32 overs. Jayawickrama finished the match with figures of 11 wickets for 178 runs.

Jayawickrama’s efforts helped his team win the match by 209 runs.

3. Elias Sunny (Bangladesh), 2011: In his debut innings against West Indies, Elias Sunny picked up 6 wickets for 94 runs from his 23 overs. 

In the second innings, Sunny just managed to pick up 1 wicket for 34 runs from his 6 overs. He finished the match with the figures of 5 wickets for 128 runs. The match ended in a draw. 

4. Dilip Doshi (India), 1979: In his debut innings against Australia, Dilip Doshi produced a remarkable performance. He picked up 6 wickets for 103 runs from his 43 overs. 

In the second innings of the match, Doshi picked up 2 wickets for 64 runs from his 42 overs. His match figures read 8 wickets for 167 runs from 85 overs. 

The result of the match was a draw.

5. Prabath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka), 2022: Jayasuriya has now joined this unique and elite list of left-arm spinners. In the first innings of the ongoing Test, Jayasuriya picked up 6 wickets for 118 runs in 36 overs.

The most significant pick for Jayasuriya in the innings was that of Labuschagne. The batter was looking well settled at 104 runs, and if he had stayed further, Australia might have posted a mammoth total, batting Sri Lanka out of the match.