via Imago
Courtesy: ESPNcricinfo
via Imago
Courtesy: ESPNcricinfo
Rangana Herath decimated the Indian batting as he took 7 for 48, helping Sri Lanka comfortably defend the target of 176 runs at Galle. With this performance, he overtook the Indian spinner Bishan Singh Bedi, who has 266 Test wickets to his name. Here is the list of the left-arm spinners with most Test wickets:
| Daniel Vettori (ICC/NZ) | 113 | 187 | 362 | 7/87 | 12/149 | 34.36 | 2.59 | 79.5 | 20 | 3 |
| Derek Underwood (Eng) | 86 | 151 | 297 | 8/51 | 13/71 | 25.83 | 2.10 | 73.6 | 17 | 6 |
| Rangana Herath (SL) | 61 | 110 | 270 | 9/127 | 14/184 | 29.81 | 2.75 | 65.0 | 22 | 4 |
| Bishan Singh Bedi (India) | 67 | 118 | 266 | 7/98 | 10/194 | 28.71 | 2.14 | 80.3 | 14 | 1 |
| Tony Lock (Eng) | 49 | 88 | 174 | 7/35 | 11/48 | 25.58 | 2.03 | 75.5 | 9 | 3 |
This was also Herath’s 22nd five-wicket haul, meaning that he extends his record for most five-wicket hauls by left-arm spinners in Tests. Next best is former New Zealand spinner, Daniel Vettori, his tally being 20. 37-year-old Herath, is also now fifth on the list of the spinners with most fifers in Tests.
| Player | Matches | Innings | Wickets | BBI | BBM | Average | Economy | SR | 5 | 10 |
| Muttiah Muralitharan (ICC/SL) | 133 | 230 | 800 | 9/51 | 16/220 | 22.72 | 2.47 | 55.0 | 67 | 22 |
| Shane Warne (Aus) | 145 | 273 | 708 | 8/71 | 12/128 | 25.41 | 2.65 | 57.4 | 37 | 10 |
| Anil Kumble (India) | 132 | 236 | 619 | 10/74 | 14/149 | 29.65 | 2.69 | 65.9 | 35 | 8 |
| Harbhajan Singh (India) | 103 | 190 | 417 | 8/84 | 15/217 | 32.46 | 2.84 | 68.5 | 25 | 5 |
| Rangana Herath (SL) | 61 | 110 | 270 | 9/127 | 14/184 | 29.81 | 2.75 | 65.0 | 22 | 4 |
Rangana Herath made his Test debut at Galle in 1999 against Australia.
Statistics Source: ESPNcricinfo
