ICC World Cup 2019: Dimuth Karunaratne Becomes the 12th Batsman to Carry Bat

Sri Lanka didn’t have an ideal start to their World Cup campaign as the Island nation skittled out for 136 in the third match of the ICC World Cup 2019 against New Zealand. Sri Lanka’s rookie skipper Dimuth Karunaratne became only the second batsman to carry his bat in the World Cup history (12th overall), with West Indies wicketkeeper-batsman Ridley Jacobs being the first in the 1999 World Cup against Australia at Manchester. The left-hander had scored an unbeaten 49.

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Meanwhile, Dimuth Karunaratne scored an undefeated knock of 52 after facing 84 balls with the help of four fours. Thus, the left-hander helplessly saw wickets tumble from the other end. In fact, Karunaratne also became the 12th batsman in the ODI history to carry his bat.

Dimuth Karunaratne was the lone warrior for Sri Lanka.

The other ten players who have carried their bat in the 50-overs version are Grant Flower, Saeed Anwar, Nick Knight, Damien Martyn, Herschelle Gibbs, Alec Stewart, Javed Omar, Azhar Ali, Tom Latham and Upul Tharanga. Hence, no Indian opening batsman makes the list of batsmen to carry his bat.

On the other hand, New Zealand skipper Kane  Williamson won the toss and decided to bowl first on the green pitch of Sophia Gardens, Cardiff.

The Kiwis pacers were right on the money and the Sri Lankan batters didn’t have any answers up their sleeve. Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson bowled with express pace and scalped three wickets to push Sri Lanka behind the eight-ball.

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Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, James Neesham and Mitchell Santner scalped one wicket each. Thus, the Kiwis fast bowler made good use of the green pitch. Meanwhile, Dimuth Karunaratne was the lone warrior for Sri Lanka as he scored an unbeaten 52. Consequently, it should be an easy target to achieve for the Blackcaps who had started this contest as favourites.