Galle September 27 2024 : Kamindu Mendis’ dream run in Test cricket continued as he added another century to make it eight scores of fifty or more in succession in Test cricket.
No one in the history of the game has made fifty-plus scores in each of their first eight Test matches.
With his unbeaten knock of 182* in the Galle Test, Kamindu has now made over 1000 Test runs in a remarkably short time.
Coming in at No.5 in the second Test against New Zealand, Kamindu was once again in his element with Angelo Mathews offering strong support at the other end. Mendis was the aggressor in the partnership, bringing up his half-century off just 53 balls.
Dinesh Chandimal’s century had put Sri Lanka on top in Galle before Kamindu once again played a steady hand from the middle-order. He made a career-best score, finishing on an unbeaten 182 when Sri Lanka declared with a team total of 602/5.
Consistency has been a hallmark of Kamindu’s Test career so far, with his string of fifty-plus scores in his first eight Tests being unprecedented in the game’s history.
Pakistan’s Saud Shakeel had made fifty-plus scores in each of his first seven Test matches, which was the record until Mendis equalled him in the last Test.
Fastest to 1000 Test runs
| Player | Innings taken |
| Herbert Sutcliffe | 12 |
| Everton Weekes | 12 |
| Donald Bradman | 13 |
| Kamindu Mendis | 13 |
| Neil Harvey | 14 |
| Vinod Kambli | 14 |
Only Herbert Sutcliffe and Everton Weekes (both 12 innings) have taken fewer innings to 1000 Test runs.
Sri Lanka are 1-0 ahead in the ICC World Test Championship series after their win at the same venue earlier in the week.
