Hashim Amla becomes the third Proteas player to achieve this feat

Hashim Amla becomes the third South African to score 9,000 Test runs

Hashim Amla could only score 19 runs against Sri Lanka at Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo on Saturday but it couldn’t stop him from achieving a memorable milestone.

Amla became the third batsman to score 9000 runs in Test cricket.

Amla crossed the 9000 runs after playing 119 matches and 204 innings at an average of 47.45.

The top-order batsman was dismissed by Dilruwan Perera in the first innings of the second match after Kusal Mendis took his catch.

Amla joins the elite list

Former South African cricketer Jacques Kallis was the first cricketer to achieve this feat. Kallis is still the leading Test run-scorer for South Africa with 13,206 runs at an average of 55.25.

Former South African skipper Graeme Smith was the second to reach the milestone and now Amla has the third South African cricketer to join the elite list.

In the ongoing 2nd Test against Sri Lanka, Keshav Maharaj took a 9-wicket haul on Saturday before Sri Lanka started to take quick wickets, leaving South Africa in trouble on 19-3 at Lunch.

Maharaj’s nine-wicket haul was South Africa’s highest in an innings since the country’s return to Test cricket in 1991 post-apartheid era.

But despite his record-breaking 9 wicket spree, his side looked meek in front of the hosts as Sri Lanka’s last-wicket pair took their side’s first innings to 338 on the second day in Colombo.

The visitors could well have been four down, had Danushka Gunathilaka held on to a sharp chance from Hashim Amla, off the bowling of Herath, when Amla was on two.

Amla went to lunch at 7 not out, batting alongside captain Faf du Plessis, who had faced nine balls for his single run.

South Africa’s reply seemed especially meek after Dananjaya and Herath’s valiant last-wicket stand.

Dropped! Amla runs a single and reaches 9000 Test runs! He's only the 3rd South African to do so. Congratulations the Mighty #!
SA 15/2.#ProteaFire #SLvSA pic.twitter.com/1gEPnWfSPg

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) July 21, 2018