Ravindra Jadeja became the first Asian cricketer to play 50 World Test Championship (WTC) matches after taking the field in the second match of the Sri Lanka vs India Test 2026 series in Colombo on Sunday.
The 37-year-old all-rounder, who represents Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, also marked the milestone with a valuable 43 off 83 balls in India's first innings at the Sinhalese Sports Club.
Jadeja struck four boundaries and added 74 runs with centurion Devdutt Padikkal before being bowled by Asitha Fernando in the final session of play, leaving India on 296/5.
Jadeja has scored 2675 runs and taken 160 wickets in WTC matches. England's Joe Root leads the overall appearance list with 78 matches, while Jadeja is the first Asian cricketer to reach the 50-match landmark.
Among Indians, Mohammed Siraj moved into second place with his 47th WTC appearance in Colombo, overtaking former India captain Virat Kohli, who finished his Test career with 46 matches in the competition.
Jadeja's latest landmark comes just days after he reached 350 Test wickets during India's 165-run victory in the series opener in Galle.
The left-arm spinner became only the fifth Indian bowler after Anil Kumble, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kapil Dev and Harbhajan Singh to take 350 wickets in Test cricket.
The milestone also made Jadeja only the second Indian after Kapil Dev to combine more than 4,000 Test runs with 350 wickets.
India were also in a strong position on the opening day in Colombo after opting to bat. Padikkal followed his 167 in Galle with another century, scoring 117, while captain Shubman Gill made 50.
For the Royals,Yashasvi Jaiswal struck a brisk 45 off 53 balls at the top of the order, whileDhruv Jurel was unbeaten on seven as India reached 300/5 after 85 overs.
