Watch: Australia applauded Sri Lanka opener Dimuth Karunaratne off the field after he played his final Test innings on day three of the second Test between the two sides at Galle.
Karunaratne, who became only the seventh Sri Lankan to reach the 100-Test landmark, had his final innings for Sri Lanka come to an end as he was dismissed by left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann on the third day of the Galle Test. The former Sri Lanka captain had announced his decision to retire ahead of the match.
He fell off the third ball of the 14th over of Sri Lanka’s second innings when he edged a delivery from Kuhnemann to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, which was later confirmed by UltraEdge.
Nathan Lyon patted Karunaratne on his shoulders as the latter made his way back to the pavilion. Non-striker Dinesh Chandimal came running in giving his teammate a first punch followed by a hug. The Australia players rallied behind him giving the departing batter a round of applause.
Karunaratne finished his career with 7,222 Test runs, the fourth-most from his country. His tally of 16 Test tons are the joint-fourth most by a Sri Lanka batter alongside Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews.
With 2,642 runs at 40.64, he bade adieu as Sri Lanka's leading run-getter in the World Test Championship.
Watch Australia congratulate Karunaratne after final Test innings:
Dimuth Karunaratne leaves the field after his final Test innings.
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) February 8, 2025
7,222 runs in 100 Test matches, a Sri Lankan stalwart 👏#SLvAUS pic.twitter.com/u2baFSmSnK
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