Former Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne is set to retire from international cricket after the second Test against Australia in Galle, starting Thursday.
A pillar of Sri Lanka’s batting in the World Test Championship era, the final match of the series will also mark Karunaratne’s 100th Test match appearance.
With his average slipping under 40, Karunaratne has stacked up 7172 Test runs in 189 innings with 16 hundreds and 39 fifties. He could only manage seven runs besides a duck in the first Test last week against the Aussies in Galle.
On Thursday, Karunaratne will become the seventh Sri Lanka cricketer to reach the 1oo-Test milestone after current head coach Sanath Jayasuriya (110), Muttiah Muralidaran (132), Chaminda Vaas (111), Kumar Sangakkara (134), Mahela Jayawardena (149), and Angelo Mathews (117).
Karunaratne’s 16 Test tons are the joint-fourth for Sri Lanka alongside Marvan Atapattu, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dinesh Chandimal and Mathews. Only Sangakkara (38), Jayawardena (34) and Arjun Ranatunga (20) have accorded more centuries in the format.
The left-hander led Sri Lanka in 30 Tests, winning 12, losing 12 and drawing six matches. Averaging 41.14, Karunaratne is Sri Lanka’s most successful batter in the World Test Championship, aggregating 2592 runs in 64 innings with six centuries and 16 fifties.
