Sri Lanka fell well short in the series opener in Galle against the reigning world Test champions but will hope to give their former captain and one of the great opening batters Dimuth Karunaratne a winning farewell. Australia lead the series 1-0 and would be keen to sweep the assignment.
Dimuth Karunaratne will turn up for Sri Lanka one last time in the second Test against Australia in Galle. This is also the 100th Test of his career and has taken the decision to step away from the sport after speaking to other senior players like Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal.
Angelo Mathews registered his 16th Test hundred by smashing 141 off 259 as Sri Lanka posted 410/6 at the end of Day 2 of the only Test match against Afghanistan. Mathews threw away his wicket when only three were left to play on Saturday.
Dimuth Karunaratne led Sri Lanka in 30 Test matches during his stint. The island nation won 12 and lost the same number of games under his leadership. Karunaratne had a 40% win record in red-ball and stands fifth on the list of players to have captained Sri Lanka the most number of times in Tests.
Pakistan are already leading the series 1-0 and going by the play on Day 1, they have a great chance to make it 2-0. Their batters have employed an interesting approach going against the bowling right from the word go.
Dimuth Karunaratne led Sri Lanka in 26 test matches, winning 10 of them. He took the test captaincy reigns in 2019.
The Australian tour pumped in an estimated USD 2 million to Sri Lanka Cricket. This resulted in the tourism industry benefitting with hundreds of Australian fans turning up for the matches that ended in a 1-1 draw.
Three players -- Rishabh Pant, New Zealand's Henry Nicholls and Rohit Sharma -- who are all on 747 points, are joint sixth. Wicketkeeper-batsman Pant has moved up three places.
Karunaratne and De Silva were involved in a 322-run partnership for the fourth wicket on a wicketless day dominated by the Sri Lankans.
There was little threat from Bangladesh seamers when the Sri Lankans started their reply but the two spinners — Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan — were rewarded for some tight bowling on Friday.
Only one other batsman managed to hold off South Africa's pace bowlers on a Wanderers pitch that has been playing typically tough for batsmen. In just two days, 24 wickets have fallen.
Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kasun Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara have all suffered serious injuries that rules them out of the second Test.
Karunaratne heaped praise on new coach Mickey Arthur on Sunday and stated the team's aim is to reach the top four in ICC rankings for both ODIs and Test cricket.
Danushka Gunathilake has not been included in the 15-member squad announced by Sri Lanka Cricket on Wednesday due to a back injury while all-rounder Thisara Perera makes a comeback.
Sri Lanka might have lost the series but signed off satisfied with safety and security measures in Pakistan after the country's first home test series in 10 years.
Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne interacted with the media ahead of the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi.
Sri Lanka's senior cricketers, including Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews and Dimuth Karunaratne have reportedly refused to travel to Pakistan for a three-match T20I and ODI series.
Karunaratne led from the front with a crafty 122 as Sri Lanka chased down 268 with relative ease, bettering the previous record chase in this venue.
Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne scored a century in the second innings as Sri Lanka registered a six-wicket win against New Zealand in the first Test in Galle.
Half-centuries from Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne have put Sri Lanka in a strong position, as they need 135 runs to secure the first Test against New Zealand in Galle.
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