Sri Lanka v Australia 1st Test – Statistical Highlights

Sri Lanka recorded their only 2nd Test victory against Australia after an inspiring win in the first Test of the 3-match series at Pallekele. After been bowled out for just 117 in the first innings and conceding 86-run first innings lead, Sri Lanka came back strong in the 2nd innings thanks to a brilliant 176 from Kusal Mendis. Sri Lankan spinners took care of the Australian batsmen in 2nd innings and bundled them out for just 161 to seal a 106-run win for their side. Here we look at all the stats and records recorded during the game.

0.13 – Partnership runrate of Nevill and O’Keefe’s 9th wicket stand. This is the lowest for a partnership where they faced more than 100 balls in Test cricket. Previous lowest was 0.64 by Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers pair during Delhi Test last year against India (From the games of which ball-by-ball data is known).

1 – For the first time, Australia lost a Test under Steven Smith. 7 of his previous 11 Tests were victories and 4 ended as a draw.

1 – Runs scored by David Warner in this Test. These are the fewest runs scored by an Australian opener in a Test since 1994.

Also check out – Sri Lanka v Australia 1st Test – 5 Moments of the day

2 – This is Sri Lanka’s 2nd Test win against Australia. Their first win was in 1999 at Kandy.

3 – Nathan Lyon became only the 3rd non-Asian off-spinner to pick 200 Test wickets. Dhananjaya de Silva was his 200th Test wicket. Other two non-Asian off spinners to pick 200 Test wickets are Lance Gibbs and Graeme Swann.

3 – For the first time, Sri Lanka’s top 3 batsmen got out in single digits in both innings of a Test match. This is overall the 6th such instance for a team in Test cricket.

4 – Runs scored by Steve O’Keefe in the 2nd innings. These are the 2nd lowest runs scored by a batsman after facing 98 or more balls in a Test inning. The lowest is 3 runs off 100 balls by J Murray in 1963. (From the games of which ball-by-ball data is known)

4 – Number of 4-wicket hauls Rangana Hearth has picked at Pallekele out of the 5 innings he bowled in Tests.

4/57 – Lakshan Sandakan‘s bowling figures in first innings are the best figures for a Chinaman bowler in his maiden Test inning. Australia’s Chuck Fleetwood-Smith picked 4/64 against South Africa in 1935 on his debut.

4 – Steven Smith now has scored fifty plus scores in 4th innings of Test in consecutive innings. Among Australian captains, only Jack Ryder, Don Bradman and Ian Chappell have scored fifty plus scores in 4th innings of Test in consecutive occasions before Smith.

6 – Number of fifty plus scores Steven Smith has in his last 7 Test innings. Prior to this game, he had 5 fifty plus scores in 5 innings. Had he scored a fifty in the first innings of this Tests, he could have equaled the record for most consecutive fifty plus scores in Tests.

Also read – SL v AUS, 1st Test Review: Sri Lanka scripts a historic victory

7 – Number of consecutive Test matches Australia has lost in Asia. 4 vs India, 2 vs Pakistan and now 1 vs Sri Lanka.

7/107 – Lakshan Sandakan’s bowling figures in the game are the best figures for a Chinaman bowler on Test debut. No other Chinaman has picked more than 5 wickets on debut.

11 – Number of Test matches Australia has lost in Asia since 2008. Only Sri Lanka (14) and Bangladesh (17) have lost most Tests in Asia since 2008.

15 – Number of lbw dismissals recorded in this Test, it is the lowest in a Test hosted by Sri Lanka. Overall, only on 4 instances, more than 15 lbw dismissals have been recorded in a Test.

21y 177d – Age at which Kusal Mendis scored a century against Australia in Test cricket. He is the youngest Sri Lanka player to score a Test century against Australia overhauling R Kaluwitharana who did in 1992 at Colombo at the age of 22y 267d.

21y 177d – Age at which Kusal Mendis scored a 150+ against Australia in Test cricket. He is the 2nd youngest player to do so after South Africa’s Graeme Pollock who did it at the age of 19y 331d in 1964 at Adelaide.

24 – Number of 5-wicket hauls Rangana Hearth has registered in Test cricket. Only 4 spinners and 5 pacers have more five-wicket hauls than Hearth in this format.

25 – Number of consecutive maiden overs played by Australia in their 2nd innings. They broke their own record for 22 consecutive maiden overs (4-ball over) in 1883 against England at MCG.

Also read – Don’t have words to explain what this victory means: Angelo Mathews

28 – Partnership runs recorded for the first 2 wickets in the first 3 innings of this Test. This is the 4th lowest in overall and 2nd lowest in a Test in Sri Lanka. In last year’s Sri Lanka-India Test at Colombo it was 27 runs.

40 – Number of 4-wicket hauls Rangana Hearth has registered in Test cricket. It is the most by a left-arm spinner and 5th most by a spinner in this format.

47 – Highest score in Australia’s first innings. This was the first instance for Australia where none of their players scored a fifty in a completed innings against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in Tests.

53 – Runs scored by openers in this Test. These are the least runs scored in a Test where openers got out 8 times. The lowest is 44 runs in Bridgetown Test in 1935.

90 – Number of consecutive balls Peter Nevill faced without scoring a run. These are the 2nd most consecutive balls faced by a player in an innings without scoring a run. South Africa’s B Mitchell faced 95 consecutive balls (approx) without scoring a run against Australia in 1931 at Brisbane.

117 – Sri Lanka’s total in this game is their lowest total in first innings of a Test match which came in winning cause. Previous lowest was 150 vs West Indies in 2005 at Kandy.

154 – Number of consecutive balls Australia has faced without scoring a run off the bat. They went past England’s 92-ball streak of the Lord’s Test in 1950 against West Indies. Most consecutive balls faced without scoring a run including extras before this was 79 balls by England vs India at Chennai in 1964.

176 – Kusal Mendis’ 176 in Sri Lanka’s 2nd innings was the 2nd highest maiden century by a Sri Lankan in Test cricket. Brendon Kuruppu scored 201* on debut against New Zealand in 1987.

313 – Number of Test wickets Rangana Hearth has taken so far. The 2nd most by a left-arm spinner and 6th most by any spinner in this format.

1934 – Rangana Hearth and Lakshan Sandakan picked up 4 wickets each in Australia’s first innings. Last time two left-arm spinners picked 4-wickets in a Test innings was by England spinners against India in 1934 at Chennai.

Also read – Sri Lanka v Australia 1st Test, Day 1 – Statistical Highlights