Malinda Pushpakumara became the fourth Sri Lankan cricketer to the 1,000-wicket mark in first-class cricket.
Pushpakumara went into the match at the Colts Cricket Club Ground with 998 wickets under his belt. Badureliya Sports Club captain Geeth Kumara won the toss, opted to bat, and scored 185 to help his side post 486 as Chanuka Dilshan returned 5-81.
Moors Sports Club finished the second day on 159-4. Having snared wicketkeeper Sohan de Livera, Pushpakumara had moved on to 999. On the third morning, he bowled Pasindu Sooriyabandara to become the 218th bowler and fourth Sri Lankan, after Muttiah Muralidaran (1,374), Rangana Herath (1,080), and Dinuka Hettiarachchi (1,001), to reach the 1,000-wicket milestone.
A salient feature of Pushpakumara’s career is the fact that he never played first-class in England: in this, he is only the second player from any country to take 1,000 wickets, after Hettiarachchi.
Most first-class wickets for Sri Lanka
Numbers updated until Pushpakumara’s 1,000 wickets
| Bowler | Wickets | Average | Strike rate | 5WIs | 10WMs |
| Muttiah Muralidaran | 1,374 | 19.64 | 48.7 | 119 | 34 |
| Rangana Herath | 1,080 | 25.15 | 55.2 | 70 | 14 |
| Dinuka Hettiarachchi | 1,001 | 23.51 | 46.4 | 72 | 18 |
| Malinda Pushpakumara | 1,000 | 20.06 | 38.3 | 86 | 28 |
Pushpakumara also has one of the best strike rates in the 1,000-wicket club. When he reached the milestone, he was 11th on the all-time list. None of the bowlers with better strike rates than him played played after the First World War.
1,000 first-class wickets at sub-40 strike rate
Numbers updated until Pushpakumara’s 1,000 wickets
| Bowler | Wickets | Average | SR | 5wI | 10wM |
| William Lillywhite | 1576 | 10.36 | 9.7 | 155 | 55 |
| William Hillyer | 1482 | 10.91 | 15.0 | 149 | 54 |
| Alfred Mynn | 1038 | 10.33 | 16.1 | 93 | 34 |
| James Dean | 1144 | 13.8 | 20.8 | 86 | 18 |
| John Wisden | 1109 | 10.32 | 21.8 | 111 | 39 |
| James Grundy | 1137 | 12.81 | 32.2 | 84 | 24 |
| Arthur Mold | 1673 | 15.54 | 37.2 | 152 | 56 |
| Tom Richardson | 2104 | 18.43 | 37.5 | 200 | 72 |
| Bill Lockwood | 1376 | 18.34 | 37.9 | 121 | 29 |
| Tom Emmett | 1572 | 13.55 | 38.3 | 122 | 29 |
| Malinda Pushpakumara | 1000 | 20.06 | 38.3 | 86 | 28 |
| George Lohmann | 1841 | 13.73 | 39.1 | 176 | 57 |
| Schofield Haigh | 2012 | 15.94 | 39.2 | 135 | 30 |
| Cecil Parkin | 1048 | 17.58 | 39.4 | 93 | 27 |
| Sammy Woods | 1040 | 20.82 | 39.6 | 77 | 21 |
Pushpakumara also holds the best first-class figures on Sri Lankan soil when in 2018/19, he became the second bowler (after Pramodya Wickramasinghe) to take all ten wickets in an innings.
All ten wickets in a first-class innings in Sri Lanka
| Figures | Player | Team | Opposition | Venue | Season |
| 10-37 | Malinda Pushpakumara | Colombo CC | Saracens SC | Moratuwa | 2018/19 |
| 10-41 | Pramodya Wickramasinghe | Sinhalese SC | Kalutara PCC | Colombo (SSC) | 1991/92 |
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