NZ vs SL: Dimuth Karunaratne Scripts History, Goes Past Sanath Jayasuriya
Dimuth Karunaratne [Source: Twitter]
In the ongoing first Test match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, Dimuth Karunaratne broke an all-time Test record for Sri Lanka while opening the batting. He surpassed the legendary Sanath Jayasuriya to top the list of most-run scorers for the Lankans while opening the batting in the purest format.
The Lankan Test skipper snapped this feat with a top-edged boundary over the wicket-keeper in the ninth over of the match bowled by Matt Henry.
Before this match, he was three runs behind the Sri Lankan legend. Jayasuriya has 5932 runs in 152 innings as a Test opener and was leading the charts until the 34-year-old overtook him today. Notably, Karunaratne has taken 154 innings to attain the feat.
Moreover, the southpaw continued his good run up at the top with a 32nd Test fifty. This was his fifth Test half-century against the Black Caps and his 3rd one on Kiwi soil.
Henry eventually got rid of the opener in the post-lunch session as he edged one to Tom Latham at the second slip.
Most Test runs for Sri Lanka as opener
- Dimuth Karunaratne: 5980 runs in 154 innings
- Sanath Jayasuriya: 5932 runs in 152 innings
- Marvan Atapattu: 5317 runs in 136 innings
- TM Dilshan: 2170 runs in 53 innings
- Roshan Mahanama: 2069 runs in 72 innings
Sri Lanka were 209/3 at tea on day 1, with Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal batting on 28* and 24*, respectively.
 "Akshaya Krishna")
