FDM Karunaratne of Sri Lanka scored 244 against Bangladesh in the just concluded test at Pallekkele to provide the 18^th occasion of a captain-opening batsman scoring 200 plus runs in an innings in the annals of test cricket. All such occasions are tabulated below

No	Player	Runs	I	Team	Opp	Ground	Start Date
1	HL Collins	203	1	Aus	SAF	Johannesburg	12 Nov 1921
2	L Hutton	205	2	Eng	Win	Kingston	30 Mar 1954
3	RB Simpson	311	1	Aus	Eng	Manchester	23 Jul 1964
4	RB Simpson	201	1	Aus	Win	Bridgetown	05 May 1965
5	RB Simpson	225	2	Aus	Eng	Adelaide	28 Jan 1966
6	GT Dowling	239	1	NZl	Ind	Christchurch	22 Feb 1968
7	WM Lawry	205	2	Aus	Win	Melbourne	26 Dec 1968
8	SM Gavaskar	205	1	Ind	Win	Mumbai	01 Dec 1978
9	GA Gooch	333	1	Eng	Ind	Lord’s	26 Jul 1990
10	MA Taylor	334*	1	Aus	Pak	Peshawar	15 Oct 1998
11	GC Smith	277	1	SAF	Eng	Birmingham	24 Jul 2003
12	GC Smith	259	2	SAF	Eng	Lord’s	31 Jul 2003
13	MS Atapattu	249	2	Srl	Zim	Bulawayo	14 May 2004
14	GC Smith	232	1	SAF	Ban	Chattogram	29 Feb 2008
15	GC Smith	234	2	SAF	Pak	Dubai (DSC)	23 Oct 2013
16	BB McCullum	202	2	NZl	Pak	Sharjah	26 Nov 2014
17	AN Cook	263	2	Eng	Pak	Abu Dhabi	13 Oct 2015
18	FDM Karunaratne	244	2	Srl	Ban	Pallekele	21 Apr 2021

GC Smith of South Africa owns the record with four scores of 200 plus runs in a test innings. He is followed by RB Simpson who has scored 200 plus runs on three occasions. The feats of these two batsmen are tabulated below

No	Player	Runs	I	Team	Opp	Ground	Start Date
1	GC Smith	277	1	SAF	Eng	Birmingham	24 Jul 2003
2	GC Smith	259	2	SAF	Eng	Lord’s	31 Jul 2003
3	GC Smith	232	1	SAF	Ban	Chattogram	29 Feb 2008
4	GC Smith	234	2	SAF	Pak	Dubai (DSC)	23 Oct 2013
1	RB Simpson	311	1	Aus	Eng	Manchester	23 Jul 1964
2	RB Simpson	201	1	Aus	Win	Bridgetown	05 May 1965
3	RB Simpson	225	2	Aus	Eng	Adelaide	28 Jan 1966

FDM Karunaratne became the second Sri Lankan captain opener to score 200 plus runs in a test innings after MS Atapattu. MS Atapattu had scored 249 against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo in May 2004.

No	Player	Runs	I	Team	Opp	Ground	Start Date
1	MS Atapattu	249	2	Srl	Zim	Bulawayo	14 May 2004
2	FDM Karunaratne	244	2	Srl	Ban	Pallekele	21 Apr 2021

It is interesting to note that this elite list contains only Indian captain opener SM Gavaskar. SM Gavaskar scored 205 against West Indies at Mumbai in Dec 1978. Yours truly was indeed lucky to witness this innings from Akashavani Commentary booth as a statistician for the commentary team.

SM  Gavaskar was the eighth captain to opener to score 200 plus runs in a test innings and also the fourth captain opener to score 200 plus runs in a test innings against West Indies after L Hutton  of England, RB Simpson of Australia and WM Lawry of Australia.

No	Player	Runs	I	Team	Opp	Ground	Start Date
1	L Hutton	205	2	Eng	Win	Kingston	30 Mar 1954
2	RB Simpson	201	1	Aus	Win	Bridgetown	05 May 1965
3	WM Lawry	205	2	Aus	Win	Melbourne	26 Dec 1968
4	SM Gavaskar	205	1	Ind	Win	Mumbai	01 Dec 1978

It’s indeed a fact that as on date there are eighteen occasions of captain openers scoring 200 plus runs in a test innings and after SM Gavaskar’s 205 at Mumbai  in Dec 1978 against West Indies, no other captain opener has scored 200 plus runs against West Indies. Forty two years and four months have elapsed since then