Who is Sonal Dinusha? Sri Lanka all-rounder scores maiden Test century in Galle

On Day 3 of the first Test between Sri Lanka and India at Galle, during India’s tour of Sri Lanka 2026, 25-year-old all-rounder Sonal Dinusha scored his maiden Test century; the innings came in only his fourth Test appearance.

Born on December 4th, 2000, in Colombo, Dinusha came through Mahanama College where he was deemed an elegant left-handed batter and a quality spin bowler. He featured for Sri Lanka at the 2020 ICC U19 Cricket World Cup and made his first-class debut in 2018 for Colombo Cricket Club. Dinusha has been a regular at domestic level for Colombo Cricket Club and the Dambulla Sixers, accumulating 3698 runs and 133 wickets in first-class cricket.

India posted 462 in their first innings, leaving Sri Lanka facing a sizeable deficit, and the home side began their reply poorly with half the team dismissed without reaching three figures. Dinusha walked in after Shubman Gill’s extraordinary effort on the field led to the dismissal of Kamindu Mendis.

Partnering Niroshan Dickwella, Dinusha put on 146 runs for the sixth wicket as Sri Lanka mounted a recovery. Against a spin-heavy Indian attack, he used sweeps and reverse sweeps while batting through that partnership.

The visitors’ spin options included veteran spinner Ravindra Jadeja alongside Kuldeep Yadav and Manav Suthar, and Dinusha’s century came while negotiating that group of bowlers. Earlier in the match, during India’s innings, he was used as the sixth bowling option by Sri Lanka skipper Dhananjaya de Silva.

Dinusha made his Test debut for Sri Lanka on June 25th, 2025, against Bangladesh at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground and then appeared twice in the Test series against the West Indies, where he had previously missed out on a maiden hundred.

Dinusha finished with 100 runs in Sri Lanka’s first innings of the SL vs IND 1st Test.