Karunaratne's next target: 100 Tests, 10,000 runs and Usman Khawaja

That Dimuth Karunaratne is a stats nerd, particularly about his career, has been known for some time. But now, 89 Tests in, the captaincy behind him (to his great relief), he has got some serious numbers in his sights. We'll get to those soon, but for now, the man he is chasing is Usman Khawaja - another left-handed opener.

Karunaratne had once spoken about how the player whose record he needed to better was Dignitary Elgar, who at the time had a preferred normal and run count over him. Karunaratne has outperformed Elgar on both those fronts, and presently needs to move beyond Khawaja's yearly run counts.

Starting from the beginning of 2022, Khawaja has scored 2476 runs, to Karunaratne's 1254. However at that point Khawaja has played 50 Test innings, to Karunaratne's 26. Khawaja's normal is better through that period - 56.27, while Karunaratne's is 50.16.

No different openers have been in their group concerning normal. They were the openers picked for the ICC's Test group of the year, however Sri Lanka played just six Tests in 2023.

"Among openers, I believe I'm in a very decent spot, contrasted with others globally," Karunaratne said in the wake of hitting 77 against Afghanistan. "Be that as it may, as of late Usman Khawaja has been awesome. He's been reliable last year and the prior year. What I'm attempting to do is to contrast myself with him step by step, and furthermore to be in that World XI consistently. At the point when Khawaja plays, I follow that series - the Cinders, and, surprisingly, the new West Indies series. I see how he bats and what he does.

"You really want these things to compel you forward. In any case, when you don't have an objective, you don't have that kick to get to the next level."

However, 35 years of age now, Karunaratne is likewise ticking off a few significant achievements that very few openers outside Britain and Australia (who will generally play the most Tests) get to. Numbers with zeros that follow them. The sorts of numbers you partner with the best.

"My most memorable objective is to get to 100 Tests," Karunaratne said. "That is an extraordinary accomplishment for any Test cricketer. Assuming I arrive, I need to perceive that I am so near 10,000 runs, and afterward I'd attempt to push for that. Right now my wellness is great. I'm attempting to leave a decent heritage in this organization. I'm near 7000 runs, and perhaps in the following a few years, I can get to that 3000 more. Those are my two objectives, so I need to keep up with my wellness and consistency."

It's somewhat more than 3000, on the grounds that even after his 77 against Afghanistan, he's still on 6708 vocation runs. Which sounds pretty widely appealing until you clock that he is by a long shot Sri Lanka's most elevated run-scorer as an opener, having made 6615 while opening the innings, with Sanath Jayasuriya at second spot with 5932.

Generally, he is the fifth-most elevated run-scorer for Sri Lanka behind Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews and Jayasuriya (who batted lower down the request for a critical piece of his vocation).

"Indeed, I'm somebody who is extremely mindful of my details and that's what I contrast and others. There's Sanath aiya, and afterward there's Angelo after that. I'm attempting to get to my objectives and afterward have the option to think back after I resign and appreciate that.

"Having played cricket and addressed your public team is adequately not. That is the reason I love this configuration, since it provides me with a great deal of fulfillment. I need to attempt to pass this large number of legends individually. I've had the option to do that somewhat. I'm attempting to accomplish more."