Heroic Herath by the numbers

The career of Sri Lanka's Rangana Herath might have ended in a surprise defeat, but it did little to take away from the record and reflections on one of the most successful spin bowlers in Test history.

Herath had announced prior to the series that the first Test against England in Galle would be his last, and the 40-year-old added three more wickets to end his overall tally at 433 from 93 Tests.

"It's an emotional situation, but all in all everybody has to take a decision at the right time," he said afterward.

"I'm thankful for all those years that I have played, all the people behind me, especially team-mates, Sri Lanka Cricket, I must thank every single person who's behind me.

"It's been a privilege and honour to play for my country, because in Sri Lanka we have 22 million people, so very few get the opportunity to play for Sri Lanka, so that's a remarkable achievement and honour for any player."

Here's a look at some of the milestones and records achieved by the left-armer:

433: Test wickets by Herath, the most ever by a left-arm bowler and the eighth-most overall.

233: Test wickets taken by Herath after turning 35 – the most by any bowler in history.

398: Test wickets taken by Herath after turning 30 – the most by any bowler in history.

1: Herath is the only left-arm spinner to take 400 Test wickets.

363: Test wickets for Herath this decade, behind only England's James Anderson (417) and the most by any spinner (Ravi Ashwin second, with 336).

2: Herath is Sri Lanka's second leading Test wicket-taker, behind only the great Muthiah Muralitharan (795 wickets for Sri Lanka).

9: Herath's tally of nine 10-wicket hauls in Tests is equal-third with New Zealand's Sir Richard Hadlee in Test history, behind only Muralidaran (20) and Shane Warne (10).

5: Herath is one of just five bowlers in Test history to take a five-wicket haul in three consecutive innings on three separate occasions (also Muralitharan, Clarrie Grimmett, Sid Barnes, Imran Khan).

81: When Herath took 11-136 against Pakistan in September last year, the then 39-year-old became the oldest player to take a 10-wicket haul in Tests in 81 years, and the fifth-oldest ever.

2: Herath is just one of two Sri Lankans to have taken a Test hat-trick, having done so against Australia in August 2016.

3: Herath is one of only three bowlers to have taken 100 Test wickets at one venue. He managed this in his farewell Test at Galle. Muralitharan (Galle, Kandy and SSC Colombo) and Anderson (Lord's) are the other two.