Star batter Dimuth Karunaratne has surpassed Sanath Jayasuriya as Sri Lanka's leading run-scorer in Test cricket. He is now the fourth highest run-getter for Sri Lanka in this format. On fourth day of the second Test against England, Sri Lanka started at 53/2 with Karunaratne and night watchman Prabath Jayasuriya at the crease. England's Chris Woakes dismissed Jayasuriya early in the first session.
Dimuth Karunaratne is the fourth highest run-scorer among Sri Lankan batters in Test cricket. He follows Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, and Angelo Mathews. Karunaratne surpassed Sanath Jayasuriya during a recent match. Among active cricketers, only Angelo Mathews and Karunaratne are in the top five. Kumar Sangakkara leads the list with 12,400 runs in 134 Tests, averaging 57.40 with 38 centuries and 52 fifties. Mahela Jayawardene is second with 11,814 runs in 149 Tests, averaging close to 50.
Sri Lankan batters with most Test runs:
| Player | Span | Mat | Runs | Ave | 100 | 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kumar Sangakkara | 2000-2015 | 134 | 12400 | 57.40 | 38 | 52 |
| Mahela Jayawardene | 1997-2014 | 149 | 11814 | 49.84 | 34 | 50 |
| Angelo Mathews | 2009-2024 | 111 | 7700 | 45.29 | 16 | 42 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | 2012-2024 | 93 | 6979 | 41.05 | 16 | 37 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | 1991-2007 | 110 | 6973 | 40.07 | 14 | 31 |
| Aravinda de Silva | 1984-2002 | 93 | 6361 | 42.97 | 20 | 22 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | 2011-2024 | 81 | 5598 | 43.06 | 15 | 27 |
Michael Vaughan believes that Dimuth Karunaratne should be more proactive, even when defending. Vaughan suggested that Karunaratne should be more aggressive and look for opportunities to counter-attack when under pressure.
"Dimuth Karunaratne is just hanging in for survival. He needs to start being more positive, even in defence, because at the moment he's just hanging back. As a batter you've got to find a way of counter-punching when you are under such pressure. Karunaratne has missed a few pull shots, I'm not sure you can trust the bounce completely on this pitch," Vaughan said, as quoted by BBC Test Match Special.
Dimuth Karunaratne started the morning session cautiously before settling into the crease. He scored his first half-century of the series and his second at Lord's. With favorable conditions and a good pitch, Karunaratne has an opportunity to score more runs.
On Day 3, England was bowled out for 251 runs in their second innings. Joe Root scored his second century of the match. For Sri Lanka, Asitha Fernando and Lahiru Kumara took three wickets each, while Milan Rathnayake and Prabath Jayasuriya took two each.
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