• This was the 1997th match in One-day international history.
• This was the fifth match between these two sides. The record now reads : Sri Lanka 4, Kenya one.
• Kaushal Lokuarachchi and Alfred Luseno became 115th and 26th player to represent Sri Lanka and Kenya in ODIs respectively.
• Sanath Jayasuriya, on 7, completed 9000 runs in ODIs. He was playing his 299th match and 291st innings. Jayasuriya became only the fourth batsman to achieve this milestone after India’s Sachin Tendulkar (12219 runs in 314 matches), Mohammad Azharuddin (9378 in 334) and compatriot Aravinda de Silva (9284 in 308).
• Kumar Sangakkara scored his second successive hundred. He reached his hundred off the final ball of Sri Lankan innings. Sangakkara became fourth Sri Lankan after Roy Dias, Roshan Mahanama and Sanath Jayasuriya to score back to back hundreds.
• Sangakkara, on 74, completed 2000 runs in ODIs.He was playing his 87th match and 80th innings. He became 11th Sri Lankan and 108th batsman overall to do so.
• The unbroken sixth wicket partnership of 36 runs between Kumar Sangakkara and Kumara Dharmasena was Sri Lanka’s best for this wicket against Kenya. The pair eclipsed the previous record stand of 15 (also unbroken) between Arjuna Ranatunga and Roshan Mahanama at Kandy on 06-03-1996.
• Lokuarachchi took a wicket with his first ball in ODIs when Steve Tikolo hit his long-hop straight to Gunawardene at short cover. He thus joined the elite band of six other Sri Lankans who have taken a wicket in their first over in ODIs, however Lokuarachchi is the only one to do so off his very first ball.
• The fifth wicket partnership of 53 runs between Maurice Odumbe and Thomas Odoyo was Kenya’s best for this wicket against Sri Lanka. The pair obliterated the previous record stand of 40 runs between Maurice Odumbe and Hitesh Modi at Nairobi (Gym) on 24-02-2003 in World Cup.
• Kenya’s total of 127 was their lowest in a match against Sri Lanka. This obliterated their previous lowest of 188-9 at Nairobi (Gym) on 28-09-1996.
• Sangakkara won his second successive Man of the Match award and fourth of his career.

(Article: Copyright © 2003 Rajneesh Gupta)