We don't talk enough about Dimuth Karunaratne
Dimuth Karunaratne is having a fantastic 2021. And we should talk a lot more about it
Dimuth Karunaratne is making the headlines. He has had a phenomenal year in 2021, and continued his excellent form with 147 and 83 against West Indies in Galle.
While he may not be as flamboyant as a David Warner, or as classical / brutal as Rohit Sharma, the unassuming Karunaratne has been among the best Test openers in the recent past. And we don’t talk enough about him.
His numbers may not be as flashy as a lot of his peers – A test Average of 40 puts him at 38th among all batsmen who have played at least 10 Tests since his debut. But he has been improving leaps and bounds over the years and has become the mainstay of the Sri Lankan setup – even ascending to captaincy.
Karunaratne’s 2021 has been off the charts. It’s not just been a personal best year for him - But he has the third most number of runs this year (Only behind Joe Root and Rohit Sharma). Among players with 300+ runs this year, Karunaratne has the second best average - 77.63
This spike in his batting has not been a recent phenomenon though. He has been a late bloomer, but his numbers in the past few years have been among the best for Openers.
Dimuth Karunaratne’s Career progression
Karunaratne made his debut for Sri Lanka in 2012, against New Zealand in Galle. He had a uninspired start to his career as he was out for a 3 ball duck, his pads caught in front of Tim Southee’s in-dipper. But there was one thing in this 3-ball stint that told us a lot more than his score on the board. We will let the Cricinfo commentary describe it for us
He was solid in his defense. That, more than anything else, is crucial for an Opener to build a solid career. And Karunaratne’s career has been as solid as they come.
Karunaratne has been a steady presence in the Lankan team since 2012, but it was only since 2018 where he has really started making his presence felt. His career average has just touched 40 – The first time since his debut test. However, since 2018 – He has been collecting runs at an average of 48.56. That’s the second best for any opener with at least 5 Test matches.
His numbers have reached new heights in 2021, as he is the third highest run-scorer, and has done so at a remarkable average of 77. He already has 854 runs this year in the 6 matches he has played. He also has the highest individual score this year – 244 against Bangladesh.
Test Openers since Karunaratne Debut
Karunaratne made his debut on the 17th of November 2012 and has the third highest number of runs as an Opener since. Only David Warner and Alastair Cook have more runs. He has got these runs at a healthy average of 40.71, which puts him at 11th among all batsmen who have played at least 10 tests as an opener in the same period.
On an average, a Test opener in this period has played 25 Tests and averages 36.73. Karunaratne has a marginally better batting average, but he has done so across a lot more tests.
The Weak Spot – Away Batting
The numbers don’t look as healthy away from Home (Avg – 29.14). However, no one has played as many tests as Karunaratne (38), and the two prolific openers of this period have unpleasant Away averages as well – David Warner (34.14) and Alastair Cook (37.81). Test Batting has gotten tougher over the past few years. Getting starts has become increasingly difficult, making cashing in a lot more important now than it was before.
The table below looks at the Opening batsmen with most matches since Nov 2012 for each team, and their Home and Away averages. Karunaratne’s overall average is the 5th best in this period, but his home average is the 2nd best. However, the difference in his Home and away average is a startling 24.72 points – The third highest after David Warner and Mohd Hafeez.
Sri Lanka have Away series in Bangladesh, India and New Zealand in the current World Test Championship Cycle. 2 of these countries are perhaps among the most difficult to visit. Karunaratne would be looking to propel his excellent form and obstinate batting to tough out the conditions and make some big runs over the next year.
Record among Sri Lankan Batsmen
Karunaratne has his sights set on the 1000 Run Mark in Test Cricket. He is just 96 runs short of leapfrogging Samaraweera, Dilshan, and Atapattu in the Sri Lankan run scoring charts – moving to No.6.
Sri Lankan batting has been about Sangakkara, Jayawardena and the rest. Karunaratne is currently right in the middle but looks set to reach the 3rd position in the next few years (Or maybe earlier if his form persists).
His average is touching 40 for the first time since his debut, putting him 9th on the list of Sri Lankan batsmen. While reaching the heights of Sangakkara would be close to impossible, Karunaratne’s excellent run off late can help him push up the order in this list as well.
At 33, Karunaratne has more years of cricket behind him, than ahead of him. But he is arguably in the form of his life and looks confident enough to carry it forward. The next 3-4 years could be the best of his life. In company of the new breed of batsmen in Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, and others, Karunaratne and Sri Lankan cricket could be an exciting bunch to follow.
P.S. – Wisden currently shared their thoughts on the Best Test Team currently. And we saw Marnus Labuschagne as the opening Batsman accompanying Rohit Sharma. While Rohit is a no-brainer, the second opening slot should be Dimuth Karunaratne. The argument for Marnus is his high average in the 60s, and having done well at No.3. Karunaratne has done exactly that over the past couple of years, and at the opening slot. And as we said, we don’t talk enough about Dimuth Karunaratne.