Akila Dananjaya now has the best match figures by Sri Lankan bowler making his Test debut.
Apart from the best match figures on debut, he also has the second-best innings figures:
Match figures for Sri Lankan bowlers on debut:
(Kuruppuarachchi played only one more Test and Ahangama two more. The latter did not play after his debut series).
Innings figures for Sri Lankan bowlers on debut:
Not bad when you consider he once held a dubious record in ODI record. In March 2017, he was the only current player who had not batted, bowled or fielded in his ODI career. Here is an edited extract from my earlier post of 27/03/2017 titled “All-round fails in ODIs”:
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No batting, bowling and fielding in ODIs (complete list):
This explains what had happened in his one ODI till then:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/582191.html
In this rain-affected match, his team did bat and got to 123/8. He was to bat at No 10 or 11 and never got to bat. And he could not bowl or field as rain prevented New Zealand’s innings from starting
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Soon after this was written, his ODI career resumed and he became a regular ODI player, with a high of a 6-for against the all-conquering touring team of India besides a 50 against Pakistan. He may well become a regular in all 3 formats.
These are his current figures. Note that he has a nice smile. One needs to be cheerful to come back after an inauspicious start.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/574178.html
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