Dimuth Karunaratne

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Dimuth Karunaratne

Personal information

Full name

Frank Dimuth Madushanka Karunaratne

Born

21 April 1988 (age 28)
Colombo, Sri Lanka

Nickname

Dimma

Height

6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)

Batting style

Left-handed

Bowling style

Right-arm medium

Role

Opening Batsman

Relations

Anuradha Kurukulasooriya (wife) (m.2015)

International information

National side

Sri Lanka

Test debut (cap 123)

17 November 2012 v New Zealand

Last Test

19-21 May 2016 v England

ODI debut (cap 146)

9 July 2011 v England

Last ODI

1 March 2015 v England

ODI shirt no.

Domestic team information

Years

Team

2008–present

Sinhalese Sports Club

2009

Basnahira North

2010-present

Wayamba

Career statistics

Competition	Tests	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	26	17	90	99
Runs scored	1,629	190	6,315	2,693
Batting average	33.93	15.83	46.63	30.95
100s/50s	3/7	0/1	19/26	3/16
Top score	186	60	210*	120
Balls bowled	12	10	241	22
Wickets	–	0	0	2
Bowling average	–	-	-	16.00
5 wickets in innings	–	-	-	0
10 wickets in match	–	-	-	0
Best bowling	–	-	-	2/13
Catches/stumpings	19/–	4/0	96/1	46/–

Source: ESPN Cricinfo, 21 May 2016

Frank Dimuth Madushanka Karunaratne (Sinhala:දිමුත් කරුණාරත්න ) or Dimuth Karunaratne, (born 21 April 1988 in Colombo) is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a left-handed player who represent the country in both Tests and ODIs, and plays first class cricket for the Sinhalese Sports Club. He is the permanent opening batsman for Sri Lanka in Test cricket.^[1]

Early career

Karunaratne attended the prestigious St. Joseph's College, Colombo, which has produced a number of Sri Lankan test cricketers such as Chaminda Vaas, Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera. He was a record-breaking batsman for the school's cricket team.^[2] After featuring in Sri Lanka's Under-19 and A squads, he was called into the senior One Day International (ODI) team for the series against England and Scotland in June and July 2011.^[3] He played in two matches on the tour, scoring four runs against England in Manchester, and 60 against Scotland in Edinburgh.^[1] He was selected in Sri Lanka's Test squad for its tour of South Africa at the end of 2011, although did not play in any of the three Tests.^[4]

International career

He was recalled into the Test squad for the home Tests against New Zealand during late 2012. He got the opportunity due to Tillakaratne Dilshan being unable to make the XI because of an injury. He debuted in the first Test in that series, in Galle, only to get out for a duck in the first innings. However, he came back strongly in the 2nd innings with an unbeaten half century and hit the winning runs as well.^[5] Following the New Zealand series he was called into the test squad which was to tour Australia for a three test match series. During the first two tests in that series he failed to have an impact as he struggled against the Australian pace attack. In the final test of the series in Sydney he managed to get his highest test score of 85 in the second innings.
His maiden century came against New Zealand on 28 December 2014 at Hagley Oval, Christchurch. He scored 152 runs from 363 balls in the second match of the series, where Sri Lanka in deep trouble of even draw the match. Eventually, Sri Lanka lost the match.
He was picked to the original squad of 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, but during a practice match, he broke a bone in his right hand and was removed from the team after the match against England. Kusal Perera replaced to Dimuth's place.^[6]
His second Test hundred came against Pakistan in Kandy, scored 133 runs in first innings of the third match of the series. As his first Test century became waste, nothing different in this time. Sri Lanka lost the match by 7 wickets.
His highest score in Test cricket was recorded during the first Test against West Indies in 2015 at Galle. He scored magnificent 186 runs and unfortunately got out in bowling of Marlon Samuels. He with Dinesh Chandimal, who also scored a century, recorded the highest partnership for the third wickelt at Galle, by scoring 238 runs. Sri Lanka easily defeated West Indies by an innings and 5 runs.

Personal life

Dimuth Karunaratne is married to a model and teledrama actress, Anuradha Kurukulasooriya. The wedding was held on 29 April 2015 at Gangaramaya Temple, Colombo with the presence of President Maithreepala Sirisena. The home coming party was celebrated at Avenra Garden Hotel, Negombo on next day.^[7]^[8]^[9]

International centuries

Test centuries

Dimuth Karunaratne's Test centuries
#	Runs	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Year	Result
1	152	14	New Zealand	Christchurch, New Zealand	Hagley Oval	2015	Lost
2	130	18	Pakistan	Kandy, Sri Lanka	Pallekele Cricket Stadium	2015	Lost
3	186	22	West Indies	Galle, Sri Lanka	Galle International Stadium	2015	Won