Rangana Herath surpasses Wasim Akram to become the most successful left arm Test bowler

The old warhorse of Sri Lankan cricket, Rangana Herath, is now the most successful southpaw in Test cricket. The left arm spinner overtakes Wasim Akram in the tally of Test wickets during the 2nd Test match against Bangladesh in Dhaka.

Herath now has 415 Test scalps to his name, surpassing the 414 wickets tally of Akram.

The wily off-spinner Herath clinched the wicket of Taijul Islam to complete his feat. Incidentally, Taijul’s dismissal helped Sri Lankans win the match by 215 runs and also achieve Herath’s aforementioned achievement.

The experienced candidate has toppled many records of late since coming outside the shadows of legendary off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.

Following Murali’s retirement, Herath has added quite a number of feathers on his cap one after the other in Test fold.

Herath- only left-arm spinner in the 400 wicket club

The 39-year old Herath is the 14th bowler to reach the 400 Test wicket club. The southpaw is only the fifth bowler to achieve the feat.

Indian duo of Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble, along with spin wizards Shane Warne and Muralitharan are already present in the club.

However, Rangana Herath is the only left-arm spinner in the 400 wickets club.

The Lankan lions put behind their horrendous run in the ODI format by winning the tri-nation tournament earlier. Sri Lanka defeated Bangladesh by 79 runs in the finals of the tournament.

Sri Lanka continued their rich run of form by winning even the two match test series. The next assignment for the Sri Lankans would be to overhaul the hosts in the 2-match T20I series.

Sri Lankan Test captain Dinesh Chandimal tagged Herath as their biggest asset in the team. Chandimal made the statement after he surpassed Daniel Vettori’s tally of 362 Test wickets last year.

“He is a wily old fox. He can do what he wants to do. He is a big asset in our team,” claimed Chandimal according to Hindustan Times.

With his recent performances, Herath made sure he lived up to the expectations of his teammates.

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