Karunaratne (left) with Praveen Jayawickrama (centre) and Oshada Fernando at the Pallekele second Test[/caption]
Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne has closed in on a top-10 spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Test Player Rankings after a successful second Test against Bangladesh in Kandy which his side won by 209 runs to clinch the two-match series 1-0.
The opening batsman struck 118 and 66, moving up four slots to 11th position in the list led by New Zealand Captain Kane Williamson.
Karunaratne’s career-best ranking is sixth, attained in August 2019.
He is the top-ranked Test batsman from Sri Lanka with Angelo Mathews next in the list in 24th position.
Niroshan Dickwella (up four places to 31st), Oshada Fernando (up 10 places to 58th) and Lahiru Thirimanne (up 13 places to 60th) are the other Sri Lanka batsmen to advance while left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama’s player of the match haul of 11 for 178, the best figures by a Sri Lankan on Test debut, sees him enter the rankings in 48th position.