Prabath Jayasuriya has been on an incredible run since making his Test debut last year, and he is on the verge of becoming the fastest spinner to reach 50 wickets.

The Sri Lankan left-hander is well on his way to being the fastest bowler in Test history to take 50 wickets, and he is also on pace to shatter the record for spinners.

With the 5/174 he took in Ireland’s first innings of the second Test in Sri Lanka, Jayasuriya increased his Test wicket total to 48 in only his sixth match.

Currently, West Indies left-arm orthodox Alf Valentine has the most wickets among spinners with 50 from eight Tests, but if Jayasuriya takes two more in the second innings against Ireland, he would have set a new record among tweakers.

Jayasuriya is also close to tying Vernon Philander of South Africa and Tom Richardson of England for the second-fastest time to 50 wickets.

After making his Test debut in November 2011, it took Philander only 135 days to achieve the 50-wicket mark in his seventh match.

Richardson also collected 50 wickets in seven Tests, although he needed closer to three years because games were played less frequently back in 1896.

Charlie Turner, a fast bowler for Australia, made a record by becoming the quickest to 50 Test wickets in his sixth match against England in 1888.

After waiting until he was 30 to make his Test debut, Jayasuriya made a huge impact by tying for the fourth-best match figures on Test debut with 12/177 against Australia in July 2022. He took six wickets in each innings.

After his game-changing performance, the Sri Lankan finger-spinner followed it up with another five-for against Pakistan, making him only the sixth bowler in Test history to take five or more wickets in each of his first three innings.

When Jayasuriya completed with four wickets in the second innings of that Test against Pakistan, he ended up with 21 wickets, good for third most in the match and tied for third most in the match overall.

The current record for the fastest bowler to 100 wickets is held by England’s quick George Lohmann, who did so in his 16th Test in 1896. Jayasuriya has already taken five wickets in an innings six times and ten wickets in a match twice.

The 31-year-old Jayasuriya is now placed 19th in the ICC MRF Tyres Men’s Test Bowling Rankings after only six Tests, and he is expected to rise even further after his impressive performance in the first innings of the second Test against Ireland.

Fastest bowlers to 50 Test wickets