Sri Lanka batter Kusal Mendis has broken legendary batter Kumar Sangakkara’s record to hit the fastest century by a Sri Lankan in the history of ODI World Cups. Mendis smashed a 65-ball hundred against Pakistan at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Mendis scored a brilliant century to get Sri Lanka off to a flyer in their second match of the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Mendis scored 122 runs off 71 deliveries, smashing 14 boundaries and six maximums against Pakistan on Tuesday.
He also became the only Sri Lankan batter to hit a century against Pakistan in ODI World Cups. The previous best by a Sri Lankan batter was 89 by Roshan Mahanama in Hyderabad in the 1987 World Cup.
Mendis got to the landmark in just 65 balls to register his third ODI century. His knock overtook Sangakkara’s knock against England in the 2015 World Cup (70 balls).
In fact, this was the sixth-fastest hundred in the history of ODI World Cups, only behind Aiden Markram vs Sri Lanka in 2023 (49 balls), Kevin O’Brien vs England in 2011 World Cup (50 balls), Glenn Maxwell vs Sri Lanka in 2015 World Cup (51 balls), AB de Villiers vs West Indies in 2015 World Cup (52 balls), Eoin Morgan vs Afghanistan in 2019 World Cup (57 balls).
Mendis has been in good touch in the ongoing World Cup, scoring a rapid 42-ball 76 in Sri Lanka’s opening match against South Africa at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
The match began with Sri Lanka choosing to bat first after winning the toss. Despite an early setback with the dismissal of opener Kusal Perera, Mendis, along with Pathum Nissanka, steadied the innings with a strong partnership. Nissanka scored a commendable half-century, providing the perfect balance to Mendis’s aggressive play.
