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Factbox: Marvan Atapattu
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April 06, 2005 13:25 IST
Last Updated: April 07, 2005 16:31 IST

Factbox on Sri Lanka [Images] captain Marvan Atapattu, who became the fourth player to score hundreds against all nine opposing Test playing nations against New Zealand [Images] on Wednesday.

Born: November 22, 1970, Kalutara. Opening right-hand batsman.

Test debut: v India at Chandigrath, 1990. 80 matches (including current Test against New Zealand), 5,000 runs, 40.32 average. 16 hundreds, 13 half-centuries. 51 catches.

ODI debut: v India, Nagpur, 1990. 225 matches, 7,296 runs, 37.80 average, 11 hundreds, 50 half-centuries, 61 catches.

A cautious but elegant batsman, Atapattu made an inauspicious start to his Test career, making just one run in his first six innings.

He was dropped for nearly three years but forced his way back, although it was not until seven years after his Test debut that he finally cemented his place.

He scored his first Test hundred against India in 1997 and his first double-hundred against Zimbabwe the following year.

He has scored six double centuries in all, trailing only Don Bradman (12), Wally Hammond (7) and Brian Lara [Images] (7). He registered his highest Test score of 249 against Zimbabwe in 1994, sharing a 438-run partnership with Kumar Sangakkara for the second wicket.

Atapattu was appointed captain of the one-day team in April 2003 and Test skipper a year later.

He scored his 16th Test hundred in the opening match against New Zealand in April 2005, joining South African Gary Kirsten, Australian Steve Waugh, India's Rahul Dravid [Images] and Sachin Tendulkar [Images] as the only players to complete hundreds against all nine opposing Test nations.

In the same innings, he also became the fourth Sri Lankan to make 5,000 Test runs.




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