Prabath Jayasuriya, Dhananjaya de Silva enter elite list after taking unique five-for against New Zealand

Prabath Jayasuriya starred with the ball as Sri Lanka bowled out New Zealand for just 88 runs in the first innings of the ongoing second Sri Lanka vs New Zealand Test in Galle.

Earlier in the game, Sri Lanka had declared their innings on a mammoth 602/5. After taking a huge lead of 514 runs, the hosts enforced the follow-on. New Zealand had their back against the wall after conceding the huge total and needed a herculean effort with the bat to bounce back.

However, the visitors came up with a disastrous batting display as they could not even reach the 100-run mark. The Black Caps were losing wickets at regular intervals right from the start. At one stage, they were reeling at 53 for 7 before a 29-run knock from Mitchell Santner helped them cross the 80-run mark.

Barring Santner, no other New Zealand batter could score more than 13 runs. Besides Santner, Rachin Ravindra (10) and Daryl Mitchell (13) were the only other players who reached the double-digit mark during the disastrous batting display.

Prabath Jayasuriya blows away New Zealand:

Prabath Jayasuriya continued his fine form in the ongoing series. After picking up 9 wickets in the first Test, the left-arm spinner claimed six wickets in the first innings of the ongoing SL vs NZ Test. The New Zealand players once again looked almost clueless against the spinner as they fell like a pack of cards.

The brilliant 6-wicket spell also saw Prabath Jayasuriya as well as his teammate and captain Dhananjaya de Silva enter the record books. They became the second Sri Lankan duo in which a fielder took five catches off the same bowler in a Test innings. Overall, they became only the fifth duo to achieve the feat.

England's Bob Taylor and Ian Botham were the first to achieve the milestone in 1980 when the former took five catches. In 1998, South Africa's Mark Boucher took five catches off Allan Donald's bowling against England. In 2004, Australia's Adam Gilchrist picked up five catches off Michael Kasprowicz's bowling against Sri Lanka.

In 2021, a Sri Lankan duo achieved the feat for the first time when Lahiru Thirimanne took five catches off Lasith Embuldeniya's bowling against England. Incidentally, they had created the record in Galle, the same venue where the ongoing Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand is being played.

Here is a list showing fielders taking five catches off the same bowler in a Test innings:

• Bob Taylor off Ian Botham against India, 1980
• Mark Boucher off Allan Donald against England, 1998
• Adam Gilchrist off Michael Kasprowicz Darwin against Sri Lanka, 2004
• Lahiru Thirimanne off Lasith Embuldeniya against England, 2021
• Dhananjaya de Silva off Prabath Jayasuriya against New Zealand, 2024