New Delhi. Chetan Chauhan, who opened many matches with the great Sunil Gavaskar in Test cricket, is remembered for a special reason. In 68 innings of 40 Tests for India, Chetan scored 2084 runs with 16 half-centuries, twice unbeaten, but he could not convert any of these half-centuries into centuries. During this period, twice he fell prey to nervous nineties (scores of 90+) while six times he was dismissed for scores of more than 80 runs. He was considered a batsman who would get nervous as he approached his century and lose wickets in a hurry. A batsman in modern cricket has left Chetan Chauhan’s ‘record’ behind in this matter. Sri Lanka’s Niroshan Dickwella has 22 more half-centuries than Chetan, but a Test century has been a dream for him so far.
Dickwella has played 54 Tests and scored 22 fifties with 7 not outs in 96 innings but failed to score a single century. Like Chetan, Dickwella has also been dismissed twice in the ‘Nervous Nineties’. He is the second batsman in the world to score runs without scoring a century in Test cricket. Legendary Australian leg-spinner (deceased) Shane Warne has scored more runs than Dickwella without a century. Playing as a pure bowler, Warne has 3154 runs (highest 99) in 145 Tests at an average of 17.32, including 12 half-centuries. Dickwella is second, while New Zealand pacer Tim Southee is third with 2098 runs in 100 Tests with six half-centuries, and Australian pacer Mitchell Starc is fourth with 2093 runs in 89 Tests. 10 Half a century of help. Among these players, apart from Dickwella, all others are basically bowlers.
Scored more than 2500 runs in Test cricket
The 31-year-old Dickwella has so far scored 2757 runs in 54 Tests at an average of 30.97. The image of this left-handed cricketer is that of an aggressive batsman. There is a common belief that Dickwella was unable to score a century in Tests because of his overly aggressive approach, to which the Sri Lankan batsman once said, ‘The shots I play and the dismissals help. Help me make a run. Sometimes the problem is that I can’t execute the shot well. I focus on this aspect of how to change gears in an innings and when to speed up the pace of scoring runs and when to slow down according to the situation.
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Got three ‘lives’ but was out for 96
Dickwella has been dismissed once for 96 and once for 92 in the Test tour so far. Dickwella was having a lot of luck before being bowled by Kemar Roach for 96 on the fourth day of the North Sound Test against the West Indies in March 2021. During the innings, he was caught at gully, once the umpire declared him unhittable, even though the ball hit the edge of the bat heading towards Alzari Joseph’s leg side. Dickwella was on a score of 74 at that time. Not only that, when he was on 95, one of Roach’s balls hit the helmet protector and hit the wicket but Dickwella escaped without falling off the bails. However, he could not capitalize on these three ‘life donations’ and returned to the pavilion without scoring a century after being dismissed by Roach.
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The wicket was lost for 92 runs against England
Two months before he was dismissed for 96 runs against West Indies, Dickwella also missed out on a century in the Galle Test against England and was dismissed for 92 runs. Apart from this, Dickwella has also been dismissed with scores of more than 80 twice in Tests.
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Dickwella has scored two centuries in ODIs
A Test century may not be beyond Dickwella’s reach, but he has two ODI centuries to his name. Dickwella, who made his international debut in 2014, has so far scored 1604 runs at an average of 31.45 in 55 ODIs, including two centuries and nine fifties. He has also scored 480 runs in 28 T20Is. Dickwella has been out of the Sri Lankan squad since March 2023. In such a situation, he is waiting to fulfill his dream of scoring a century in Test cricket.
Tags: Sri Lanka Cricket Team, Test cricket
First published: July 3, 2024, 07:59 IST