SL vs SA 2018 : 1st Test - Statistical Preview

All the major stats and facts all you need to know as Sri Lanka take on South Africa in the first Test match at Galle.

Dale Steyn needs 3 more wickets to become leading wicket taker for South Africa in Test cricket. (Photo - getty)

Sri Lanka will begin their home season 2018/19 with a 2-match Test series against South Africa. The first Test match will be played in Galle and second in Colombo. Sri Lanka could miss their regular captain Dinesh Chandimal who might face a 2 or 3 Test match suspension due to his involvement in ball tampering in the second Test match against West Indies last month. Though Angelo Mathews's return should boost their confidence. On the other hand, South Africa have been excellent in Test cricket this year as they beat both India and Australia at home but AB de Villiers' retirement is a big set back for them and they are going to miss him in these spin friendly conditions.

All the major stats and facts all you need to know as Sri Lanka take on South Africa in the first Test match at Galle :

Head to Head in Test cricket -

 Team  Match     Won     Lost     Drawn   
 Sri Lanka    25  5  14  6
 South Africa    25  14  5  6

3 - Dale Steyn needs 3 more wickets to surpass Shaun Pollock's tally of 421 wickets and become all-time leading wicket-taker for South Africa in Test cricket.

4 - Dilruwan Perera needs 28 more runs to become the 4th Sri Lankan player to complete the double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in Test cricket after Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Rangana Herath.

17.20 - Vernon Philander's Test bowling average against Sri Lanka - the best by any bowler from either side in South Africa - Sri Lanka Tests (Min 20 wickets).

18 - Hashim Amla needs 18 more runs to become the 3rd South African player to score 9000 Test runs after Jacques Kallis (13206) and Graeme Smith (9253).

50 - Dane Elgar will be playing 50th Test match of his career in Galle. The left-handed opener has scored 3194 runs at an average of 42.58 in 49 Tests with 11 hundreds.

90 - Dale Steyn has taken 90 wickets at an average of 22.66 in 20 Test matches in Asia with 5 five wickets haul and 1 ten wicket haul - the most Test wickets by any non-Asian fast bowler on Asian soil. 

143 - Number of Test wickets taken by 23 years old Kagiso Rabada and needs 7 more wickets to become the youngest ever to take 150 Test wickets.

1997 - Kusal Mendis (1997 runs) needs 3 more runs to complete 2000 Test runs. He will be the second youngest Sri Lankan player to score 2000 Test runs after Mahela Jayawardene.

 
 

By Jasveer Singh Kharra - 11 Jul, 2018

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