Kamindu Mendis Equals Don Bradman, Becomes Fastest Asian Batter To Slam 5 Test Centuries
Mendis equalled Bradman's record [Source: ICC]
Kamindu Mendis is certainly the incarnation of the great Don Bradman, and time and again, he has proven his worth with the bat in hand. The Sri Lankan batter slammed yet another Test century, this time against the touring New Zealand side to rattle them at Galle.
This was Mendis' 5th Test cenury, and he became the fastest Asian batter (13 innings) to reach the landmark, surpassing Pakistan's Fawad Alam, who held the record in 22 innings.
Mendis came into bat with loads of confidence from the first Test, and he continued the good work on Thursday, by creating a world-record for the most successive fifty-plus scores in Test cricket (scoring 8 fifties).
The Galle surface assisted the batters and Mendis grabbed the opportunity with both hands, scoring briskly and notching up his 5th Test century, and one of the best innings of his short-Test career.
The other Asian batters on the list of fastest to 5 Test centuries are India's Cheteshwar Pujara (24 innings), Sourav Ganguly (25 nnings), and Sunil Gavaskar (25 innings).
Fastest batters to 5 Test centuries
Players | Country | Innings |
---|---|---|
Everton Weakes | WI | 10 |
Herbert Sutcliffe | ENG | 12 |
Neil Harvey | AUS | 12 |
Don Bradman | AUS | 13 |
Kamindu Mendis | SL | 13 |
With his scintillating century, Mendis equalled Aussie great, Don Bradman's record of scoring the joint fourth-fastest to 5 Test centuries, in terms of innings. The top spot is occupied by West Indies' Everton Weakes, and both Bradman and Mendis achieved the milestone in 13 innings.
At the time of writing, Mendis is batting wonderfully at 109, as Sri Lanka has just lost 5 wickets for 434 runs.