The Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya has created a unique record on his test debut, as he has become only the second bowler in the 21st century and overall the fifth bowler in the history of test cricket to grab 12 wickets in his very first test match.
Prabath Jayasuriya was given the opportunity to make his debut in the second test match against Australia at Galle, as Sri Lanka had to make some forced changes because of a COVID outbreak in the camp and Jayasuriya grabbed his opportunity with both hands. The southpaw was a bit nervous to start with, but once he found his feet and got his areas right, he didn’t look back.
There was not much turn-on on offer on the first and the second day of the game, but Jayasuriya bowled in very tight areas and eventually ended up with a 6-wicket haul in the first innings. When he came on to bowl for the second time in the game, there was a fair bit of wear and tear on the wicket and it was very tough for the Aussie batsmen to face him.
Prabath Jayasuriya had come into the Galle test with a lot of first-class experience
Jayasuriya had come into the Galle test match with a wealth of first-class experience and he showed straightaway how well he is used to the red ball game. It took him no time to adjust to test cricket at all.
Apart from Prabath Jayasuriya, another bowler who took 12 wickets on test debut in the 21st century was the former Australia off-spinner Jason Krejza who had done it against India in 2008, but Krejza had got those wickets at the expense of 358 runs, as compared to Jayasuriya who got his 12-for for just 177 runs in the game.
The best performance that any bowler has ever put on in his first test match is the former Indian leg spinner Narendra Hirwani, who had got 16 wickets in his debut test against West Indies in 1988.
