Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis matches Saud Shakeel’s world record, surpassing Sunil Gavaskar

New Delhi: Sri Lankan star Kamindu Mendis has had an extraordinary start to his Test career, scoring outstanding performances every time he has taken the field since his debut in July 2022. The young all-rounder has scored at least one fifty-plus score in all of his first six Tests. Continuing his fine form, Mendis scored a century on Wednesday during the Test against New Zealand in Galle, thus setting up his seventh successive Test with a fifty-plus score. This is a rather rare feat, as it has come about only once in Test cricket history, when last year Pakistan’s Saud Shakeel became the first player to enter a fifty-plus score in each of his first seven Tests.

Several cricketing legends had scored half-centuries in each of their Test matches till their first six Tests played before this feat. Such players were India’s Sunil Gavaskar, Pakistan’s Saeed Ahmed, West Indies’ Basil Butcher, and New Zealand’s Bert Sutcliffe. Their early career shows consisted of a strict standard for achieving high values in performance, to which Mendis and Saud Shakeel have only just surpassed now.

Kamindu Mendis scored a gritty and determined knock, reaching a well-deserved century against New Zealand as Sri Lanka regained control of the first Test. The hosts had fought their way into a strong position by close of play on the opening day, finishing at 302 for seven. The innings was key in turning the tide in Sri Lanka’s favor after a very tough start.

Kamindu Mendis batted like a bravehead, helping Sri Lanka wrest the momentum from New Zealand as they reached 302 for seven by stumps on the first day of the opening Test on Wednesday. Such an innings by Mendis will be crucially important to navigate his side out of trouble and allow them to seize the initiative after getting an adverse start.

Sri Lanka began to struggle at 106 for four shortly after lunch, but it was Kamindu Mendis, recently rewarded player of the series during their tour of England, who now stepped up to the plate with a composed and assured innings. His calm approach under pressure helped steadies the team and took the game onto a far better position as the day progressed.

Kamindu Mendis expressed the team’s intent to “get close to the 350 mark” on Thursday, believing that would put Sri Lanka “on top of the game.” His valuable innings, however, came to an end at 114 in the penultimate over of the day. Ajaz Patel produced a sharp turner that caught Mendis’ glove, offering a straightforward catch to first slip, bringing an impressive knock to a close just before stumps.

“It’s a special hundred this one, as this came in my hometown,” Kamindu said.

“I should have gone on to get a big one, but I couldn’t do much about that ball.”

Kamindu Mendis – the young lad with rare ambidextrous skills in batting as well as bowling – plays his seventh Test. He has already scored more than 800 runs. In that short period of time, four of his innings have been centuries and four half-centuries. Can be rated amongst the present finest Sri Lankan Test players.

Sri Lanka found themselves in some difficulty heading into tea at 178 for five, but a crucial 103-run partnership between Kusal Mendis and Kamindu Mendis helped rescue the innings and guide them to a more competitive first-innings total. Kusal contributed with a well-played half-century but was dismissed soon after in an unusual fashion. The ball ricocheted off Tom Latham at short leg, allowing captain Tim Southee to take a sharp catch, ending Kusal’s solid knock.

New Zealand rookie fast bowler William O’Rourke made immediate impact dismantling the top Sri Lankan order, claiming two wickets as the hosts could muster only 88 runs by lunch. And what almost right away proved to be all the justification needed for a decision to hold him back was the performance of the 23-year-old O’Rourke.

O’Rourke surprised Dimuth Karunaratne with extra bounce in the fourth over, which sent Karunaratne to the locker room for just two as he edged the ball to wicketkeeper Tom Blundell. Fellow opener Pathum Nissanka, coming off a match-winning performance against England, was cleaned up by a late-swinging yorker for 27.

Dinesh Chandimal came down the track and was caught by Michael Bracewell at mid-wicket after clipping Tim Southee’s fourth ball after lunch. Sri Lankan skipper Dhananjaya de Silva then fell to part-time spinner Glenn Phillips, who took his first wicket with a delivery that bowled de Silva through the gate.

Angelo Mathews, who had been forced off the field at one stage due to a thumb injury, batted through the final over before lunch but was out nicking O’Rourke to the wicketkeeper for 36.

O’Rourke summed up the day by saying that honours are pretty even and giving credit to the Sri Lankan batters for getting themselves back into the game. Talking of an early start on Thursday to New Zealand’s innings, he said: “We are looking forward to knocking them over soon.”