10 facts about the Rangana Herath: Sri Lanka’s unsung hero

Sri Lanka’s main spinner Rangana Herath has been in the twilight of his brilliant career currently. He has shouldered the burden of Sri Lankan bowling for the past six years, after the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan.

The left arm spinner who is in the top ten Test bowlers rankings, will be celebrating his 38th birthday on March 19 and we celebrate his career with 10 facts about ‘the smiling assassin’ Rangana Herath:

1. Birth 

Rangana Herath was born on March 19, 1978 in Kurunegala and his full name is Herath Mudiyanselage Rangana Keerthi Bandara Herath.

2. Debut

Herath made his debut for Sri Lanka in Test cricket on September 22, 1999 against Australia and took 4/97 in this debut innings.

3. The struggle

Sri Lanka was over-dependent on Muttiah Muralitharan during the 90s and 2000s, meaning that Herath had to struggle to make a permanent place in the side. He only played 22 Tests in the 11 years after his debut.

4. Finally the no.1 choice

Muralitharan retired from Test cricket in 2010 and despite competition from spinners such as Ajantha Mendis, Suraj Randiv and Sachitra Senanayake Herath has managed to keep the Test spot as his own for the last 6 years.

5. Brilliant form since return

Herath took just 66 wickets in his first 22 Tests, but after becoming the no.1 spinner for Sri Lanka, Herath has taken 231 wickets in the next 51 Test matches.

6. Some of his best Test performances

Herath’s best Test performance came against South Africa in 2011, when he picked up 9/128 in the match where Sri Lanka defeated South Africa in South Africa for the first time ever. His 7/48 against India in 2015 helped Sri Lanka win the first Test from a position where India looked definite victors.

7. World T20 2014

Sri Lanka faced New Zealand in a do or die match and Sri Lanka got bowled out for 119. New Zealand knew that the pitch was difficult, but had the confidence of overhauling the less total, until Herath decided to make his presence felt. He picked up 5 wickets for 3 runs, to bundle the Kiwi for just 60 runs and dump them out of the tournament.

8. Carrom ball

Herath is widely known for making the carom ball famous, thanks to his use of the delivery in Test cricket and T20s. Off lately bowlers like Ravi Ashwin and Sunil Narine made famous in IPL.

9. Best bowling figures by a left arm spinner

In 2014, Herath almost did the unthinkable against Pakistan. He took 9 wickets in an innings for 127 runs to make the last Test match of Mahela Jayawardene even more special.

10. Retirement

Herath who will turn 38 on March 19 had said that he will take a call on his retirement after the World T20 2016 in India. But whatever decision he takes, he will be remembered as the bowler who broke out of Murali’s shadow and made a name for himself.