Kamindu Mendis continued his sensational form in red-ball cricket with a crucial century to give Sri Lanka an upper hand on Day 1 of the first Test match against New Zealand in Galle. Sri Lanka posted a challenging total of 302/7 after early setbacks at Galle International Stadium.
After a memorable win in the last Test against England at The Oval, Sri Lanka produced another good performance to continue to recapture their form in red-ball cricket. The top-order batters struggled but Kamindu Mendis scored 11 runs off 173 balls and Kusal Mendis smashed a quick 50 to put Sri Lanka in a comfortable position at the end of the day's play.
Batting in his only 11th Test innings, the 25-year-old Kamindu became the fastest Sri Lankan to register four Test centuries, breaking the former cricketer Michael Vandort's record by playing 10 innings less. Mendis also equalled the legendary Don Bradman's tally for the fastest to four Test hundreds.
Kamindu failed to stay unbeaten as New Zealand removed both him and settled Kusal in the closing stages on Day 1. William O'Rourke picked three early wickets while Glenn Phillips bagged two for the visitors.
Meanwhile, the surface surprisingly proved hard to bowl in the middle session with the Kiwis' bowlers struggling to get any help from the wicket. Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner failed to make any impact but Glenn Phillips was able to scalp big wickets of Dhanajaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis. Sri Lankan spinners are also expected to face a similar challenge against New Zealand's strong batting unit and fans can witness a full five-day of action in Galle.
Sri Lanka Playing XI: Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kamindu Mendis, Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando.
New Zealand Playing XI: Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee (c), Ajaz Patel, William O'Rourke.
