SL's Kamindu Mendis scripts history with twin Test tons
Sri Lanka's rising batting sensation Kamindu Mendis has smoked twin tons in the opening Test against Bangladesh in Sylhet. The 25-year-old reached the landmark on Day 3 as he also raced past 4,000 First-Class runs. Mendis is standing in just his second Test and the first one in nearly 20 months. He smoked his maiden ton in the first innings.
Another fine hand from Kamindu
Kamindu, who scored 102 in SL's first innings, arrived in the first hour of Day 3 with the scorecard reading 126/6. He joined forces with fellow centurion Dhananjaya de Silva (108) as the duo added 173 runs, powering SL past 300. Kamindu batted with remarkable intent as Bangladesh bowlers failed to apply any pressure. Notably, de Silva also hammered twin tons in the game.
Fiery batting with lower-order
The end of SL's innings looked near at 299/7. However, Kamindu had other plans as he recorded 50-plus stands with Prabath Jayasuriya (25) and Kasun Rajitha (4) as the visitors finished at 418. Kamindu batted in the fifth gear after completing his hundred as he ended up scoring a brilliant 164 off 237 balls, a knock laced with 16 fours and six sixes.
Seventh SL batter to accomplish this feat
Kamindu became the seventh SL batter to hammer twin tons in a Test. Besides de Silva, he has joined Duleep Mendis, Asanka Gurusinha, Aravinda de Silva (twice), Tillakaratne Dilshan, and Kumar Sangakkara (twice). Dilshan and Sangakkara are the other SL batters to accomplish this feat in Bangladesh. This is the first occasion of two SL batters slamming twin tons in the same Test.
Brilliant start to Test career
As Kamindu scored 61 on his Test debut against Australia in July 2022, he has now breached the 50-run mark in his first three Test innings. He has raced to 327 runs at 109. This was overall his 15th First-Class century as he also raced past 4,000 runs (4,063), averaging a brilliant 61-plus (50s: 20). The tally includes 28 wickets at 34.39 (5W: 1).
Historic stand between Kamindu and de Silva
De Silva and Kamindu's 173-run stand is the second-highest partnership by a visiting pair for the seventh wicket or lower in Bangladesh (Tests). They are only behind compatriots Kithuruwan Vithanage and Mahela Jayawardene, who added 176* runs for the seventh wicket in Mirpur (2014). De Silva and Kamindu added 202 runs in SL's innings, the highest sixth-wicket stand by a visiting pair in Bangladesh.
Kamindu scripts these records
As per ESPNcricinfo, Kamindu recorded the highest score by a player batting at eight or lower in a Test in Bangladesh. No other batter has even touched the 115-run mark in this regard. Kamindu also became the first batter to slam twin centuries while batting at seven or lower in a Test.
How has the match proceeded?
SL were reeling at 57/5 while batting first before centurions Kamindu (102) and de Silva helped them compile 280. Bangladesh managed only 188 as Taijul Islam (47) was their only batter to score 30-plus. Vishwa Fernando claimed four wickets. De Silva and Kamindu again scored tons as SL finished their second innings at 418. Bangladesh have been tasked with a target of 511 runs.
