Kusal Mendis smokes his 2nd T20I fifty vs NZ: Stats
Kusal Mendis smoked a fiery half-century as Sri Lanka posted a massive 182/6 while batting first in the third and final T20I versus New Zealand. The opener smacked the Kiwi bowlers all over the park as he ended up scoring 73 off 48 deliveries. His stellar knock was laced with six boundaries and five maximums. Here we look at his stats.
Another fine knock from Mendis
NZ won the toss and opted to bowl at Queenstown's John Davies Oval. The visitors were off to a flier as Mendis and Pathum Nissanka (25) added 76 runs for the opening wicket. The former did the bulk of scoring in the partnership. Notably, Mendis reached his fifty off just 36 balls. He eventually fell prey to Ben Lister in the 14th over.
Here we look at his stats
Sri Lanka's sixth-highest run-getter in the format, Mendis has raced to 1,270 runs in 55 games at 23.96. His strike rate reads 133.68. Meanwhile, this was Mendis's 12th T20I fifty. Among SL players, only Kusal Perera (13) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (14) own more 50-plus scores in T20Is. Meanwhile, Mendis now owns 234 runs in seven T20Is vs NZ, striking at 145.34 (50s: 2).
How did Sri Lanka's innings pan out?
Besides the openers, Kusal Perera (33), Dhananjaya de Silva (20), and skipper Dasun Shanaka (15) also made handy contributions. NZ bowlers pulled things back in the last couple of overs and somewhat restricted the damage. Lister was the pick of the Kiwi bowlers, claiming 2/37 in four overs. As the series stands 1-1 after the first two games, the third T20I is a decider.
