- By Namrata Vijay
- Fri, 27 Sep 2024 04:10 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
SL vs NZ, 2nd Test: Kamindu Mendis continued his sublime form to the longest format by smashing his fifth hundred in the 13 innings that he has played till now on the second day of the second Test against New Zealand. Mendis brought up his hundred off 147 balls and thus scored his second consecutive century of this series and his third overall half-century.
On the back of his brilliant hundred Sri Lanka could score more than 400 runs and he also stitched a 400-run partnership with Angelo Matthews for the fourth wicket off 125 balls during the first session of the second day. On Day 1, wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Chandimal also brought up his century and scored 116 runs off 208 balls. Matthews scored a gritty knock of 88 runs off 185 balls, whereas skipper Dhanjaya de Silva fell short of his well-deserved fifty as he scored 44 runs off 80 balls before lunch. Opener Dimuth Karunaratne too made a significant contribution by scoring 46 runs off 109 balls.
In the series opener, Mendis came into bat at the No.5 position instead of his original No.7. He was the highest run-scorer during the first innings as he scored 114 runs off 173 balls and helped the team post a respectable target of 305 runs on a tricky surface. He played a huge role and helped the team win the match by 63 runs.
Kamindu Mendis's Test career so far
He made his Test debut against Australia in July 2022, where he scored a gritty knock of 61 runs and helped the team win the match. Two years later, he was recalled to the team earlier this year for a Test series against Bangladesh, where he scored two hundreds (102 and 164) and became just the seventh Sri Lankan batter to have achieved this milestone. His knock of 164 runs is also the fourth-highest runs by a No.8 batter in the longest format.
Mendis has scored more than 50 runs in almost all the Test matches that he has played after making his comeback and is on the verge of becoming one of the fastest players to have scored 1000 runs in the longest format. Although he didn't break the record made by Herbert Sutcliffe and Everton Weekes (12 innings), he did level Don Bradman's milestone of 13 innings if he could score 178 runs during the first innings of the ongoing match.
