Sri Lanka veteran spinner Rangana Herath touched another milestone on Saturday as the orthodox spinner has overtaken the legendary Wasim Akram’s tally of 414 scalps to become the highest left-
armed wicket-taker in Test history.
Herath obtained the record, during the 2nd test match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, as Taijul Islam’s attempted slog-sweep failed and went straight into the hands of Danushka Gunathilaka at the boundary. The wicket completed a four-wicket haul for the 39-year-old spinner and was his 415th
Test dismissal.
Herath is now the 12th highest wicket-taker in history of Test, two wickets behind India’s Harbhajan Singh and four wickets behind South Africa’s Dale Steyn.
Among currently active cricketers, only James Anderson (523) and Steyn have picked up more Test wickets than the former Sri Lankan skipper.
Just last week, Herath became the only third Sri Lankan bowler after Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas to complete 500 dismissals across all formats in international cricket. That feat had come in the first Test against Bangladesh which ended in a draw.
Rangana now has 415 wickets from 89 Test appearances for Sri Lanka with an average of 28 and a best of 127-9.
He has picked up a five-wicket haul in Test, a staggering 33 times over the course of his career, while registering nine 10-wicket hauls.
