Dimuth Karunaratne: The only calm character amidst the Sri Lankan chaos

When Dimuth Karunaratne arrived at the crease to open Sri Lanka’s second innings at Galle, his team was chasing a mammoth target of 550 runs. They were already two men short courtesy of injuries and the deteriorating Galle pitch favoured the bowlers.

Karunaratne was fighting a lost battle. But that didn’t deter the left-hand batsman for playing yet another high-quality innings. The Sri Lankan opener paid little attention to the near impossible target or the mighty Indian bowling unit that was raising steam from the pitch.

Calmness amid the chaos

The very first ball Karunaratne faced bounced surprisingly and with much pace. Somehow, he managed to fend it to gully and then the wicket of Tharanga couldn’t stop him from driving Yadav for a four. With nothing going right around him, the Sri Lankan opener batted with grit and patience.

In the next one hour, the Indian pacers attacked Karunaratne with much fervour. Some deliveries narrowly missed his outside edge while some crashed on to his pads resulting in LBW shouts. But the left-hand batsman stood calm and focused on getting his eye in. He waited for the bad deliveries and punished them with ease.

Against Ravindra Jadeja, he did something which Sri Lanka did rarely in the Test match. He attacked Jadeja and was looking to score runs off his bowling. He used the reverse sweep on the very first ball and one ball later was brave enough to step out.

His positive approach helped the other Sri Lankan batsmen and Niroshan Dickwella emerged along side him to steady the sinking ship. Dickwella was scratchy but the duo produced Sri Lanka’s only hundred run partnership in the Test and kept India wicketless for 26 overs.

This partnership was the only phase of the Test when India looked hesitant. At one point both batsmen were playing without any trouble and their batting made Sri Lanka forget about their disastrous performance on the first three days.

Karunaratne used the depth of the crease to push the ball behind square and tackled the spin by using soft hands. His calm approach boosted the Sri Lankan wicket-keeper who also gained confidence as his innings progressed.

However, just when the left-handed opener was looking solid, he dragged a wide delivery on his stumps and was out for 97 runs. He missed his hundred by a whisker but more importantly, he showed Sri Lanka that India is not invincible. He proved that runs can be scored against Indian bowlers by fusing skill with temperament.

His innings of 97 was a lesson for the rest of the Sri Lankan team.

Sri Lanka’s batting pillar since 2012

Karunaratne has been a pillar for Sri Lanka since his debut in 2012

This was not the first instance when the elegant left-hander spearheaded Sri Lanka’s innings. He is habituated to this responsibility since his debut in 2012.

Since 2012, only Angelo Mathews has scored more runs than Karunaratne in Tests for Sri Lanka. In 41 Tests, Mathews has scored 3338 runs at an average of 49.08 while Karunaratne has amassed 2568 runs in 40 Tests with an average of 34.24.

Also in the same span, only Rangana Herath (42 matches) and Mathews (41) have played more Tests than the opening batsman for Sri Lanka.

The stats reflect how crucial Karunaratne has remained for Sri Lanka since the retirement of their great batting trio of Sangakkara, Jayawardene, and Dilshan.

One of best openers around the world

In the last five years, Karunaratne has emerged as the best top order batsmen for Sri Lanka. He has also remained one of the most consistent Test openers around the world.

Among the openers with most Test runs since 2012, the Sri Lankan batsman ranks at number four. Only David Warner (4821 runs), Alistair Cook (4448) and Murli Vijay (2770) have scored more runs than him while opening the innings in Test cricket.

And the 29-year-old is putting up such a high-quality performance with little help from the other batsmen and while playing under an unprofessional and chaotic cricket board.

While other batsmen in the world have to worry about the bowlers and the threat of the new ball, the Sri Lankan opener’s mind is occupied with the financial troubles, a depressing team environment and the scarcity of quality resources available for him.

Karunaratne has remained Sri Lanka' most consistent top order batsmen

The shining hope in darkness

Since their dramatic Test series victory against Australia in 2016, nothing has gone right for Sri Lanka in the longest format of the game. They were annihilated by South Africa and later lost a Test match to Bangladesh. Last month, Zimbabwe nearly pulled off a victory and now India has humbled them.

The youngsters haven’t performed according to their potential while the experienced players have just not been good enough. The future for Sri Lanka looks dark with little hope left.

Amidst such darkness and depressing atmosphere walks to bat, Karunaratne is a face that is aloof from all this chaos and his shoulders carry the burden of an entire nation.