SA vs SL 2024: Prabath Jayasuriya joins Jadeja and Shakib in elite five-wicket haul club

Prabath Jayasuriya. (Photo Source: X(Twitter)

Rainbow nation South Africa (SA) are currently hosting Sri Lanka (SL) in the two-match Test series. Both teams are clashing in the second Test, played in Gqeberha. While the hosts are looking good to complete a possible series whitewash, the visitors are fighting for a series leveller. Having said that, there have been some sensational bowling performances so far in the series. One such player making a mark and tormenting batters with his impeccable consistency is Sri Lanka’s rising left-arm spinner, Prabath Jayasuriya.

Recently, Prabath claimed his 10th five-wicket haul in the Test format at St George’s ground for the island country and in the process became the 10th left armer to achieve the incredible feat of scalping five or more wickets in the purest format of the game. Interestingly, his compatriot in the former Sri Lanka legend, Rangana Herath, claimed five wickets or more in a Test match for an astonishing 34 times. As a result, he holds the record for most five-wicket hauls being a left-arm spinner in Test history.

Following him as the next best spinner was New Zealand’s former southpaw legend, Daniel Vettori, who achieved the feat on 20 occasions. While Bangladesh’s former Captain Shakib Al Hasan is in the third spot with 19 five-wicket hauls. Besides him, on the opponent side, South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj has taken 10 five-wicket hauls. For the uninitiated, not long ago, Prabath became the fastest Sri Lankan to reach the milestone of 100 wickets in the Test format. He achieved this landmark during his 17th Test match against South Africa at the renowned Kingsmead ground in Durban.

Quite fascinatingly, four other bowlers reached the three-figure mark in as many Tests as Prabath in Test cricket. Bowlers like Yasir Shah, Sydney Barnes, Charlie Grimmett and Charles Turner claimed their 100th wicket in their 17th Test appearance for their respective countries. Meanwhile, England’s speedster Alfred Lohmann had set the record way back in 1896 against South Africa in their den. He scripted history with this record in Johannesburg.

Speaking of Prabath Jayasuriya’s sensational bowling, during the second innings of the second Test, the willy spinner bowled 34 overs while conceding 129 runs en route to his historic five-wicket haul. Among the victims, batters like Skipper Temba Bavuma, opener Tony de Zorzi, David Bedingham, all rounder Marco Jansen and the rising star, Ryan Rickelton, fell prey to his deceptive spin bowling.

Sri Lanka need 143 runs on final day to win Second Test

As a result of Prabath Jayasuriya’s bowling heroics, South Africa were bowled out for 317 in their second innings. This meant that Sri Lanka were set a stiff target of 348 runs to win the second Test for a series leveller. So far, in their second innings, the visitors have lost their half the side with the score reading 205/5 on the board. Currently, as the game into the fifth and final day, Sri Lanka will look to show some resistance and try to chase down the target. The Lankan Lions still need another 143 runs to win the match.

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Now regarding Prabath Jayasuriya’s bowling career, the 33-year-old has 107 wickets to his name. During these matches, he maintained an impeccable economy of 3.17. Notably, he made his debut for Sri Lanka in the year 2022. As far as his favourite venue is concerned, Galle happens to be his favourite hunting ground as out of the 10 five-wicket feats, eight of them have happened in his homeland.

Left-arm spinners with most five-wicket hauls in Tests