Dimuth Karunaratne only second batsman to carry bat in a World Cup game
Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne on Saturday became the second batsman in the history of World Cup cricket to carry his bat in a match during their opening 2019 World Cup match against New Zealand.
Karunaratne remained unbeaten on 52 as Sri Lanka folded for 136 against the Blackcaps at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. His valiant effort went in vain as New Zealand won the match by 10 wickets as Martin Guptill (73* off 51 balls) and Colin Munro (58* off 47 balls) guided the 2015 runners-up home in just 16.1 overs.
Karunaratne played 84 balls and hit four boundaries and played at a strike-rate of 61.90.
The only other person to do so in a World Cup game was West Indies' Ridley Jacobs, when he achieved the feat in the 1999 World Cup against Australia in Manchester. Opening the batting, Jacobs remained not out on 49 off 142 balls and scored at a strike-rate of 34.50.
The Sri Lanka captain was the second Sri Lakan to do so. The first was Upul Tharanga, when he scored 112 not out against Pakistan at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Overall, he was the 12th to do in ODI cricket.
