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Lahiru Udara Makes History with Five Sixes in a Single Test Innings
Right-handed wicketkeeper-batter Lahiru Udara opened the innings for Sri Lanka in the ongoing second Test against the West Indies at North Sound, Antigua, and scored 188 runs from 248 balls on July 3.
During his innings on Day 1, Udara scored at a strike rate of 75.81, hitting 21 fours and five sixes. Those five maximums also saw him achieve a new milestone.
Lahiru Udara Breaks Sri Lankan Record
Playing only his third Test for Sri Lanka, the 32-year-old became the first Sri Lankan opening batter to hit five sixes in a single Test innings.
He went past the previous national record jointly held by Sanath Jayasuriya. Across an international career that lasted more than two decades, Jayasuriya hit four sixes in a Test innings twice.
Sri Lanka Openers with the Most Sixes in a Test Innings
| Rank | Player | Runs | Balls | Fours | Sixes | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lahiru Udara | 188 | 248 | 21 | 5 | West Indies | North Sound | 3 Jul 2026 |
| 2 | Sanath Jayasuriya | 89 | 56 | 11 | 4 | Bangladesh | Colombo (SSC) | 6 Sep 2001 |
| 3 | Sanath Jayasuriya | 253 | 348 | 33 | 4 | Pakistan | Faisalabad | 20 Oct 2004 |
| 4 | Sanath Jayasuriya | 157 | 147 | 19 | 3 | Zimbabwe | Harare | 6 May 2004 |
| 5 | Sanath Jayasuriya | 73 | 74 | 9 | 3 | South Africa | Colombo (PSS) | 4 Aug 2006 |
| 6 | Michael Vandort | 117 | 189 | 9 | 3 | Bangladesh | Colombo (SSC) | 25 Jun 2007 |
| 7 | Oshada Fernando | 50 | 70 | 4 | 3 | Pakistan | Galle | 24 Jul 2022 |
Yashasvi Jaiswal Holds the World Record
The record for the most sixes in a Test innings by an opening batter belongs to Yashasvi Jaiswal. The left-handed Mumbai batter, who made his Test debut against the West Indies in July 2023, hammered 12 sixes during his unbeaten 214 against England in the second innings of the Rajkot Test in February 2024.
Besides Jaiswal, only Matthew Hayden and Brendon McCullum have managed to hit more than 10 sixes in a Test innings as opening batters. Hayden struck 11 sixes while scoring 380 against Zimbabwe at the WACA in Perth in 2003, while McCullum also cleared the ropes 11 times in the first innings of the Sharjah Test against Pakistan in November 2014.
Most Sixes by an Opener in a Test Innings
| Rank | Player | Country | Runs | Balls | Fours | Sixes | Against | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yashasvi Jaiswal | India | 214* | 236 | 14 | 12 | England | Rajkot | 2024 |
| 2 | Matthew Hayden | Australia | 380 | 437 | 38 | 11 | Zimbabwe | W.A.C.A | 2003 |
| 3 | Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | 202 | 188 | 21 | 11 | Pakistan | Sharjah | 2014 |
| 4 | Chris Gayle | West Indies | 333 | 437 | 34 | 9 | Sri Lanka | Galle | 2010 |
| 5 | Navjot Singh Sidhu | India | 124 | 223 | 9 | 8 | Sri Lanka | Lucknow | 1994 |
| 6 | Mayank Agarwal | India | 243 | 330 | 28 | 8 | Bangladesh | Indore | 2019 |
| 7 | Gordon Greenidge | West Indies | 213 | 384 | 20 | 7 | New Zealand | Auckland | 1987 |
| 8 | Chris Gayle | West Indies | 197 | 396 | 20 | 7 | New Zealand | Napier | 2008 |
| 9 | Virender Sehwag | India | 293 | 254 | 40 | 7 | Sri Lanka | Brabourne | 2009 |
| 10 | Tamim Iqbal | Bangladesh | 206 | 278 | 17 | 7 | Pakistan | Khulna | 2015 |
| 11 | Rohit Sharma | India | 127 | 149 | 10 | 7 | South Africa | Visakhapatnam | 2019 |
| 12 | Yashasvi Jaiswal | India | 209 | 290 | 19 | 7 | England | Visakhapatnam | 2024 |
Udara Breaks Karunaratne’s Record
Udara became the fourth Sri Lankan batter to lose his wicket on Friday, but before returning to the pavilion, he also went past Dimuth Karunaratne’s record for the highest score by a Sri Lankan opening batter in a Test against the West Indies.
Udara’s innings eventually came to an end when Alzarri Joseph dismissed him with a relatively harmless delivery in the over before the second new ball was due. He went for a pull shot to a short ball outside the off stump but only managed to sky it towards Joseph, who completed the catch at the fine leg boundary. Udara’s 188 came off 248 balls and included 21 fours and five sixes.
During the West Indies’ tour of Sri Lanka in 2015, Karunaratne had made 186 from 354 balls in the first innings of the Galle Test in October that year. Udara bettered that score with his outstanding knock of 188.
That masterclass 188 from Lahiru Udara puts him in a league of his own because no other Sri Lankan opener has ever managed to clear the ropes five times in one Test innings.
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