Sonal Dinusha joins elite list of legends with remarkable run against India

Sonal Dinusha continued his impressive run against India by registering his fourth consecutive fifty-plus score in Test cricket on Thursday, putting his name alongside some of the game’s most celebrated batters.The Sri Lankan left-hander reached the landmark during the final day of the second Test in Colombo, where his resilient innings helped the hosts keep their hopes of saving the match alive. Dinusha’s latest half-century came after he had already produced three substantial scores across the two-Test series.𝟓𝟎-𝐩𝐥𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚Douglas Jardine (ENG, 1932-1934)Everton Weekes (WI, 1948)Clyde Walcott (WI, 1948)Ken Barrington (ENG, 1959)Sonal Dinusha (SL, 2026)Dinusha began the series with a century and an 84 in the first Test. He then followed those efforts with 103 in the first innings of the second Test before completing another fifty-plus score in the second innings.The consistency has placed him in several notable statistical lists.Dinusha has become only the third Sri Lankan batter to record fifty-plus scores in all four innings of a two-Test series. He joins Kumar Sangakkara and Dimuth Karunaratne in achieving the feat.Sangakkara accomplished it against Bangladesh at home in 2013 and against England in England in 2014, while Karunaratne achieved the feat against South Africa at home in 2018.Dinusha’s achievement against India is even rarer. He is only the second batter to score fifty-plus in each of his first four Test innings against India.The only previous batter to achieve that feat was Zimbabwe great Andy Flower during Zimbabwe’s tour of India in 2000. Flower’s scores across the four innings were 183*, 70, 55 and 232*.Dinusha has also entered another exclusive list involving India. He is the fifth batter to score fifty-plus in each of his first four Test innings against the country.England’s Douglas Jardine achieved the feat between 1932 and 1934, while West Indies legends Everton Weekes and Clyde Walcott did so in 1948. England’s Ken Barrington followed in 1959.Dinusha’s latest contribution came at a crucial stage for Sri Lanka. His half-century, combined with a century partnership with Keshara Nuwantha, allowed the hosts to negotiate the first session of the final day without losing a wicket and maintain their hopes of securing a draw.