Rangana Herath surpasses Kapil Dev’s record, achieves unique ton vs Pakistan

Rangana Herath surpassed Kapil Dev’s record as he became the first bowler to take 100 wickets against Pakistan in Tests. The Sri Lanka left-arm spinner picked up yet another ten-wicket haul and helped his team secure a dramatic 21-run win over Pakistan in the Abu Dhabi Test to break several records.

Rangana Herath displayed his class and picked up yet another 10-wicket haul as Sri Lanka secured a dramatic 21-run win over Pakistan in the first Test at Abu Dhabi. The 39-year-old left-arm spinner changed the course of the match with a haul of 6/43 in the second innings as Pakistan, in pursuit of 136, were bowled out for 114.

Rangana Herath became the second Sri Lankan bowler and first left-arm spinner to take 400 wickets in Tests after helping Sri Lanka to a dramatic 21-run win over Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.(AP)

After the end of the match, Herath was asked as to why he always performed well against Pakistan. The veteran responded, “I have no idea. Maybe I have played more against them, that’s why.”

Following the conclusion of the match, Herath achieved some remarkable statistics and showed why he is the best left-arm spinner in the world.

101 - Number of wickets by Rangana Herath against Pakistan, which is the most by any bowler. The left-armer is the first bowler in Test history to take 100 wickets in Tests against Pakistan. The record for the previous highest number of wickets against them was 99 by India’s Kapil Dev.

2 - Rangana Herath became the second Sri Lankan bowler after Muttiah Muralitharan to go past 400 wickets in Tests.

39 - Rangana Herath’s age when he reached 400 wickets, which makes him the oldest to reach the landmark. The record was previously held by New Zealand’s Sir Richard Hadlee, who achieved this feat at the age of 38.

14- Rangana Herath became the 14th bowler in Test history to reach 400 Test wickets. His team-mate Muttiah Muralitharan leads the overall list with 800 wickets.

1 - Rangana Herath became the first left-arm spinner in Test history to take 400 Test wickets. Before Herath, Daniel Vettori had held the record for the most wickets by a left-arm orthodox with 362 wickets.

2 - Rangana Herath is only the second left-arm bowler (pace and spin) in Test history to take 400 wickets. Wasim Akram, Pakistan left-arm pacer, has 414 wickets from 104 Tests.

9 - Number of 10-wicket hauls in Tests by Rangana Herath, making him the joint-third most. Muttiah Muralitharan leads with 22, followed by Shane Warne with 10. Herath is level with Richard Hadlee.

5 - Rangana Herath became only the fifth spinner to take 400 Test wickets. Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh are the others.