Sri Lanka vs Australia, 2nd Test Stats: Dilruwan Perera’s Sri Lankan record and Australia’s asian low

A match-winning performance from Dilruwan Perera, who scored a fifty and picked up 10 wickets in the match, ensured Sri Lanka secured the series 2-0 after beating Australia by 229 runs in the second Test at Galle.

After winning the toss on day one, Sri Lanka put on 281 in their first innings. In response, Australia crumbled to their lowest score in Sri Lanka and gave Sri Lanka a lead of 175 after Rangana Herath picked up his first Test hat-trick.

Despite losing the openers early in the second innings, Dilruwan Perera’s fifty coupled with a few useful cameos helped the hosts put on 237, to set Australia 413 for an improbable victory to keep the series alive.

Having begun the day on 25/3, Australia lost four more wickets including the crucial ones of David Warner and Steven Smith before lunch. After that, it was a mere formality and eventually they were bowled out for 183, handing the hosts a win in under 3 days and the series as well.

Here are some interesting numbers from the Test:

1 – Dilruwan Perera became the first Sri Lankan player to score a fifty and take 10 wickets in a Test. He was the 23rd player overall to achieve this feat.

2 – Since 2000, this was only the second time after the Trent Bridge 2015 Test that Australia had lost half their side before reaching 100 in both innings of a Test.

4 – On the list of most wickets at a single venue, Rangana Herath’s 84 wickets at Galle means he is fourth on the list. The top three spots are all occupied by Muttiah Muralitharan, who has taken more than 100 wickets in three different grounds in Sri Lanka.

6 – Since 2008, Australia’s win % in Tests in Asia is the lowest among all non-Asian teams. Of the 17 Tests they have played, they have won just one and lost 12 times. England (31%), West Indies and South Africa (21%), New Zealand (19%) all have better records and have won more than one Test in that period.

8 – Australia have now lost 8 Tests in a row in Asia. They have lost four Tests to India and now two each against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

10 – Before Jon Holland achieved it, only 10 batsmen had remained 0* in both innings of their debut. The last player to do it was Ishara Amerasinghe in 2008.

11 – Dilruwan Perera now holds the record for the fastest Sri Lankan to take 50 Test wickets. He did it in 11 Tests, the previous record was 12 held by Ajantha Mendis.

229 – Excluding wins against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, this was Sri Lanka’s fourth-largest win in Tests.

250 – This was Sri Lanka’s 250th Test match. Despite being the No.7 ranked team, they beat the No.1 side to claim the series.

319 – Among spinners, only Muttiah Muralitharan, Anil Kumble and Shane Warne had taken more wickets after 72 Tests than Rangana Herath’s 319 wickets.

501 – Australian batsmen were bundled out twice in just 501 deliveries. This was their fifth lowest in a loss in Tests since 1900.

1297 – This was the second-shortest completed Test in Asia where all 40 wickets had fallen. The Mumbai Test lasted in 2004/05 is the shortest. Overall in the last 100 years, this is the third-shortest, with only the Port Elizabeth Test (1262 balls) in 1998/99 taking fewer balls.