Ranjan Madugalle creates history, becomes first-ever match referee to officiate 400 ODIs

Sri Lanka umpire Ranjan Madugalle achieved a massive feat in the history of ODI cricket on Wednesday (7th August). Ranjan Madugalle became the first match referee to officiate in the 400 games in the 50-over format at the international stage.

Ranjan Madugalle achieved the feat during the ongoing third ODI of the series between the India National Cricket Team and the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team. The final game of the series between the teams is taking place at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Ranjan Madugalle has been the match referee for all three games in the ongoing ODI series between India and Sri Lanka. On completing the 400 games in the ODIs, the match referee Ranjan Madugalle was felicitated by Sri Lanka Cricket in the presence of the other match officials and the captains Rohit Sharma and Charith Asalanka.

Ranjan Madugalle was presented with a plaque by SLC on behalf of the International Cricket Council for completing 400 games. Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva. The official Twitter account of SLC confirmed the development and congratulated Ranjan, stating:

"Congratulations to Mr. Ranjan Madugalle on his 4️⃣0️⃣0️⃣th ODI as a match referee! On behalf of the @ICC, Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva presented a plaque to commemorate this incredible milestone."

🎉 Congratulations to Mr. Ranjan Madugalle on his 4️⃣0️⃣0️⃣th ODI as a match referee! 🎉

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— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) A<!---->u<!---->g<!---->u<!---->s<!---->t<!----> <!---->7<!---->,<!----> <!---->2<!---->0<!---->2<!---->4

Ranjan Madugalle tops the list for most Men's ODIs officiated by the match referee. He sits at the top of the list with 400 games under his belt. Chris Broad is second on the list with 361 matches. Jeff Crowe has overseen 329 games, while Indian match referee Javagal Srinath has been part of 268 games in the 50-over format.

Most Men's ODIs officiated by the match referee.

400 - Ranjan Madugalle

361 - Chris Broad

329 - Jeff Crowe

268 - Javagal Srinath

Sri Lanka opts to bat in Ranjan Madugalle's 400th ODI

Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka won the third toss in a row and put the India Team on the field first. The hosts had a pretty solid start with the bat as the duo of Pathum Nissanka and Avishka Fernando came up with a sensational batting display at the top.

Pathum Nissanka and Avishka Fernando added 89 runs for the opening partnership and put Indian bowers under pressure. Axar Patel made the first breakthrough for his team as he removed Nissanka for 45 runs, but after that, Sri Lanka, yet again, was on the top.

Avishka Fernando played a sensational innings but fell short of his century by just 4 runs as Riyan Parag removed him to get his maiden international wicket. The all-rounder then again chipped in as trapped Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Charith Asalanka in lbw for 10 runs to bring his team back in the game.