Sri Lanka's Milan Rathnayake Breaks 41-Year-Old Record By Scoring 72 Runs On Test Debut

Milan Rathnayake made his debut for Sri Lanka on Wednesday (August 21) against England during the first Test of the ongoing three-match series. On Day 1 of the Manchester Test, the 28-year-old bowling all-rounder scored 72 runs from 135 balls for the Dhananjaya Da Silva-led side and helped them post a total of 236 runs in the first innings. Rathnayake came out to bat at No. 9 for Sri Lanka and scored six fours and two sixes during his stay at the crease.

By amassing a total of 72 runs on his Test debut, Rathnayake broke a 41-year-old Test record set by former Indian all-rounder Balwinder Singh Sandhu. The 28-year-old now holds the record for scoring the most runs on Test debut by a No. 9 batter.

Sandhu, who played in eight Tests and 22 ODIs for India, made his red-ball debut against Pakistan in Hyderabad (Sind) on January 14, 1983, and scored 71 runs from 88 balls as the No. 9 batter in the first inning.

During Sri Lanka’s first innings on Wednesday, Rathnayake added 63 runs for the eighth wicket with Dhananjaya, who top-scored for Sri Lanka by making 74 runs from 84 balls. After Dhananjaya’s dismissal, Rathnayake joined hands with Vishwa Fernando (13 runs) and added 50 runs for the ninth wicket. Rathnayake was sent back to the pavilion by Shoaib Bashir on the fourth ball of the 71st over.

At the close of the first day’s play, England managed to score 22 runs without losing a wicket in four overs. The Poms are playing under the leadership of Ollie Pope in the ongoing Test series at home. The right-handed batter was appointed as England’s captain after Ben Stokes was ruled out of the series due to an injury he suffered while playing in the men’s Hundred competition.

The legendary all-rounder who led England to a 3-0 series win over the West Indies last month is expected to be back in action for England during the three-match Test series against Pakistan in October.