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Ajantha Mendis fastest Sri Lankan to 75 ODI wickets

June 02, 2010 15:27 IST

- Scorecard

- Sri Lanka played their 600th ODI when they took on Zimbabwe in the tri-series match in Bulawayo on Tuesday.

They became fifth team to do so after India (742), Australia (741), Pakistan (715) and West Indies (636).

- Interestingly, Sri Lanka have played all their milestone games (100th, 200th... 600th) outside Sri Lanka and won all but one. Their only defeat in a milestone game was in their 400th match, against South Africa at Kimberley in 2002, where they lost by eight wickets.

- Dinesh Chandimal and Jeevan Mendis made their ODI debut for Sri Lanka. They became 144th and 145th players to represent Sri Lanka in the shorter version of the game.

- At 20 years 195 days, Chandimal became the second youngest player to don the wicketkeeping gloves for Sri Lanka, after Asanka Gurusinha, who was 19 years 48 days old while keeping wickets against Pakistan at Hyderabad on November 8, 1996.

- Hamilton Masakadza (62) was ninth out after opening the innings for Zimbabwe. His innings accounted for 52.5 per cent of Zimbabwe's total. This is the second highest contribution by a Zimbabwe batsman in an innings where all 10 wickets fell. The record is held by Dave Houghton, who contributed 59.4 pew cent (142 out of 239) against New Zealand in a World Cup game at Hyderabad (India) on October 10, 1987.

- Masakadza's contribution is also the best by an opener for Zimbabwe and sixth best in all ODIs in an innings where all 10 wickets fell.

- Masakadza also completed his 2,500 runs in ODIs during the course of his innings. He became eighth Zimbabwe batsman to do so after Andy Flower (6786 runs in 213 games), GW Flower (6536 in 219), ADR Campbell (5185 in 188), Heath Streak (2943 in 189), Stuart Carlisle (2740 in 111), Guy Whittal (2705 in 147) and  Brendan Taylor (2677 in 99).

- Zimbabwe were bowled out for only 118 even though the match was reduced to 26 overs a side! This provided only the third occasion in ODI history of a side getting bowled out in a match of 30 overs or less a side. India were bowled out for 123 in a 25-over game against the West Indies at Port-of-Spain on June 1, 2002 and England were dismissed for 162 in a 24-over game against New Zealand at Birmingham on June 18, 2008.

- Ajantha Mendis -- with two wickets in the match -- took his wicket-tally in ODIs to 75. He was playing only his 40th match! Mendis now holds the record of being the fastest Sri Lankan to reach the 75-wicket mark in ODIs, taking the record from Lasith Malinga, who did so in his 50th match. In fact, only two bowlers have reached the 75-wicket mark in lesser matches than Mendis. Pakistan's Saqlain Mushtaq and New Zealand's Shane Bond both did so in 39 matches.

- Chandimal's three dismissals (2 catches + one stumping) are the most effected by a Sri Lankan keeper, making his ODI debut. Seven other keepers -- Mahes Goonatilleke Amal Silva, Ashley de Silva, Gamini Wickremasinghe, Pubudu Dassanayake, Chamara Dunusinghe and Lanka de Silva -- made two dismissals on their ODI debut for Sri Lanka.

- Sri Lanka have now beaten Zimbabwe in 15 consecutive games. They had last suffered a defeat against Zimbabwe in April 2003 at Sharjah.

- Suraj Randiv (3-23) won his maiden MoM award in his 11th match.