Sri Lanka national cricket team all-rounder Kamidu Mendis has achieved a huge feat in the history of Test cricket. He became the first cricketer to record a half-century in all of his first eight matches in the longest format of the game.
Kamindu Mendis achieved the feat in the second Test match against the New Zealand national cricket team. The final match of the two-match series between the two teams will be held at the Galle International Cricket Stadium in Galle, which begins on Thursday (September 26).
Kamidu Mendis put in a stellar performance with the bat in the ongoing match. He continued his golden touch in the longest format of the game and ensured that he put his team in the dominant position on Day 1 of the ongoing second Test against the New Zealand National Cricket Team.
Kamindu Mendis came out to bat at No. 5 and made sure to take advantage of the platform provided to him by the top-order batsmen. The left-hander batted freely and scored runs quickly, enabling him to help his team surpass the 300-run mark at the end of Day 1.
Kamindu Mendis racked up a spectacular half-century in the last over of the day, batting with complete control. The left-hander hit the bowlers all over the park and ensured that he lived up to expectations once again. He ended the first day unbeaten with 51 runs off 56 balls with the help of 8 boundaries and 1 six.
With this, he became the first player to score 8 consecutive half-centuries in 8 games. He surpassed Pakistan National Cricket Team batsman Saud Shakeel, who had scored 7 half-centuries in the first 7 games he played for the team.
50+ points in most consecutive Tests since debut; Kamindu Mendis tops the list
50+ scores in most successive tests since debut
8 – Kamindu Mendis*
7 – Saud Shakeel
6-Bert Sutcliffe
6 – Saeed Ahmed
6 – Butcher’s Basil
6 – Sunil Gavaskar
No cricketer had managed to show this kind of consistency in Test cricket since the first match was played in 1877. Mendis now has four centuries and five fifties in his first eight Test matches to continue making headlines with every innings.
In the first Test match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, the hosts dominate the game. Opting to bat first, they did not put up a great performance with the bat at the start. Pathum Nissanka fell early but after that, Dimuth Karunaratne scored 46 runs before Dinesh Chandimal took centre stage.
The wicket-keeper batsman hit a magnificent hundred and finished with an innings of 116 runs off 208 balls and also hit 16 fours in his innings. After he got out, Angelo Matthews (78*) and Kamindu Mendis (51*) took up the responsibility and ensured that they ended the day on a high score.
The duo hit an unbeaten 85-run stand with the bat as Sri Lanka finished Day 1 at 306/3. They would be keen to keep adding centuries and help the team post a massive total on the board.