Sonal Dinusha joined Kumar Sangakkara and Andy Flower in an elite list after recording his fourth successive fifty-plus score in Sri Lanka’s Test series against India.
IMAGE: Sonal Dinusha celebrates his half-century on Day 3 of the 2nd Test against India in Colombo on Tuesday. Photograph: BCCI
Key Points
- Sonal Dinusha scored his fourth successive fifty-plus score against India in the second Test at Colombo, keeping Sri Lanka’s draw hopes alive.
- He joins Kumar Sangakkara and Dimuth Karunaratne as the third Sri Lankan batter to achieve fifty-plus scores in all four innings of a two-match Test series.
- Dinusha is only the second batter, after Andy Flower, to achieve this feat against India.
- He is also the fifth batter to score fifty-plus scores in his first four Test innings against India, joining legends like Douglas Jardine and Everton Weekes.
- Dinusha’s resilient half-century and a century partnership with Keshara Nuwantha helped Sri Lanka lead by 116 runs at the end of the first session on the final day.
Sri Lankan batter Sonal Dinusha joined legends Kumar Sangakkara and Andy Flower in elite lists as he smashed his fourth successive fifty-plus score against India at Colombo on Thursday. During the final day of the second Test, Dinusha kept Sri Lanka’s hopes for a draw alive as he reached his fourth successive fifty-plus score of the series.
Dinusha’s Remarkable Consistency
Earlier, in the first Test, he had smashed 100 and 84, while in the ongoing Test, he scored 103 in the first innings and followed it with another half-century. Now, he has joined Sri Lanka stalwarts Kumar Sangakkara (against Bangladesh at home in 2013 and against England in UK in 2014) and Dimuth Karunaratne (against South Africa at home in 2018) as the third SL batter to have fifty-plus scores in all four innings of a two-match Test series.
Joining Elite Company
Dinusha is the second batter to have achieved the feat against India, after Zimbabwe legend Flower scored 183*, 70, 55 and 232* during Zimbabwe’s tour of India in 2000. He has also joined players like Douglas Jardine (England against India from 1932-34), Everton Weekes (West Indies against India in 1948), Clyde Walcott (West Indies against India in 1948) and Ken Barrington (England against India in 1959) as the fifth batter to score fifty-plus scores in the first four Test innings against India.
Sri Lanka’s Fight for a Draw
A resilient half-century from Sonal Dinusha and his century partnership with Keshara Nuwantha kept Sri Lanka’s hope for a draw alive as they ended the first session of the final day of the second Test at Colombo on Thursday without losing any wickets. At the end of the first session, SL was 329/6, with Dinusha (55*) and Nuwantha (46*). They led by 116 runs. Sri Lanka started the final day at 229/6, with Dinusha (7*) and Nuwantha (3*) unbeaten. They were leading by 16 runs.
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