Sri Lanka all-rounder Sonal Dinusha scored his 11th first-class century against New Zealand A on Friday (April 17).
Sonal Dinusha stars in first innings against New Zealand A
The first four-day game between Sri Lanka A and New Zealand A began on Thursday (April 16) at Hambantota. Home captain Pasindu Sooriyabandara won the toss and chose to bat first. All of Sri Lanka A's top five got starts, but only opener Lahiru Udara made it past 50, scoring 61 before Tim Pringle dismissed him.
Read more: 601 runs in five innings: Sri Lanka Test opener extends tremendous first-class run with 90-ball ton
Dinusha came to the crease at 147-4 in the second session on day one, after Pavan Rathnayake went for 27. He put on 45 with skipper Sooriyabandara, before stitching the largest partnership of the innings with Ramesh Mendis. Mendis made 48 in the 102-run stand, during which Dinusha made it to a half-century off 69 balls.
Two more wickets fell on day one, which Sri Lanka A ended on 324-7 with Dinusha batting on 90. On the morning of day two, he got an 11th first-class ton off 137 balls, in the company of Isitha Wijesundara (36). Dinusha was the last batter to be dismissed, for 108, as Sri Lanka A were bowled out for 381.
1st unofficial Test, Sri Lanka A vs New Zealand A
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The 25-year-old left-hander has 16 half-centuries to go with his 11 hundreds in first-class cricket, as well as seven five-wicket hauls in 63 matches with his left-arm spin.
Who is Sonal Dinusha?
Dinusha was first picked for the Sri Lanka U19 side in 2018, to play against a visiting Indian side. He made his first-class debut later that year for Colombo CC, scoring 59 from No.3 in the second innings, and went on to represent Sri Lanka at the 2020 U19 World Cup.
He had a stint in UK club cricket as Fulwood and Broughton's overseas professional in the 2022 Northern Premier Cricket League, finishing as the competition's top run-scorer with 937 runs and the second-highest wicket-taker with 60 scalps in 21 matches.
In 2025, Dinusha made his Test debut for Sri Lanka against Bangladesh, taking 3-22 and 0-7 either side of scoring 11 as Sri Lanka won by an innings and 78 runs.
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