Against India at Galle, Niroshan Dickwella extended his world record of most Test fifties without a hundred.
Dickwella was dropped from the Sri Lanka Test XI in March 2023. He then failed a doping test during the 2024 Lanka Premier League, following which he was banned from cricket for an indefinite period. In August 2026, however, he was recalled to the Test squad, and then into the XI for the first Test against India.
Buoyed by Devdutt Padikkal’s 167, India batted into the third morning of a rain-affected Test to post 471. In response, Sri Lanka lost five early wickets when Dickwella joined Sonal Dinusha. The pair went to lunch at 99-5 and batted through the second session to take the score to 215-5 by tea.
Just when it seemed he would get his maiden Test hundred, Dickwella edged Prasidh Krishna to Rishabh Pant. He extended his world record for most Test fifties without a hundred to 23, well clear of the 16 by Chetan Chauhan, the next man on the list. Dickwella’s 23 half-centuries include two scores in the nineties and four in the eighties.
Dickwella also inched closer to Shane Warne’s record of most Test runs without a hundred .
Sri Lanka were 274-9 at the time of writing. They trail by 188 runs.
Play: Which batters have the most Test fifties without a hundred?
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