Prabath second fastest to 100 Test wickets
Prabath Jayasuriya, the key leg-spinner of the Sri Lanka Test team, became the joint second-fastest player to reach 100 Test wickets during the ongoing first Test between Sri Lanka and South Africa in Durban.
Jayasuriya only took 17 matches to take his 100th wicket in the format, faster than any Sri Lankan bowler who came before him. Prabath Jayasuriya became the second-fastest bowler ever and the fastest Sri Lankan to reach 100 Test wickets after he dismissed Tony de Zorzi during South Africa’s second innings in the first Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka in Durban.
His 100th wicket came in just 17 matches, equaling the record of Sydney Barnes, Clarence Grimmett, Yasir Shah, and Charles Turner, who also reached the milestone in the same number of games.
England’s George Alfred Lohmann holds the record for being the quickest to 100 Test wickets, as he completed the century of wickets in just 16 games. Jayasuriya, who took 2 for 24 in South Africa’s first innings earlier in the day, was the only sign of respite for the visitors in the second innings after they were dismissed for a record-low total of 42 — their lowest ever in Test history.
He reached the 99-wicket mark in the first innings after getting Gerald Coetzee caught by Kamindu Mendis in the field. With South Africa seven down, he had the opportunity to claim the milestone in that innings; however, Asitha and Vishwa Fernando completed the clean-up work, and Jayasuriya had to wait for South Africa’s second innings to reach the landmark.