Sri Lankan batter Kusal Mendis blazed away to a wonderful century in his side's 2023 ODI World Cup match against Pakistan at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Tuesday, October 10.
Batting first, Sri Lanka lost their opener, Kusal Perera, early on. This led Mendis to enter the crease within the first two overs.
Mendis, alongside Pathum Nissanka, steadied the ship for Sri Lanka and ended the powerplay at 58/1. Following the powerplay, both batters tried to keep the momentum going, but Nissanka lost his wicket after a well-made 51.
In the meantime, Mendis also got to his fifty in 40 balls. However, as soon as he reached his half-century, Mendis led the charge and began his onslaught on the Pakistani bowlers.
Showcasing his wide range of shots, Mendis raced from 50 off 40 to 100 off 65 balls. Against a top-quality bowling attack of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Hasan Ali, Mendis didn't back down and hit boundaries for fun.
His entertaining innings of 122 came to an end when he was holed out on the boundary off Hasan Ali's bowling. However, Mendis smashed two consecutive sixes just prior to his dismissal.
With his explosive knock, Mendis broke a slew of records in Hyderabad. Here are five of those significant records that Kusal Mendis broke during his 122-run knock against Pakistan.
#1 Fastest World Cup century for Sri Lanka
Kusal Mendis caused a mayhem with his blistering knock. With the help of 14 centuries and six lusty maximums, he made a 77-ball 122.
The 28-year-old, however, took only 65 balls to get to his three-figure mark. Due to this, Mendis became the Sri Lankan to make the fastest-ever ODI World Cup hundred.
He broke legendary batter and former Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara's record, who made his century against England at the 2015 ODI World Cup in 70 balls.
#2 Highest score by a Sri Lankan wicket-keeper against Pakistan in ODI history
Playing as a designated wicket-keeper, Kusal Mendis' 122-run knock is now also the highest individual score by a Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batter against Pakistan in one-day internationals.
Mendis eclipsed Kumar Sangakkara on the list. Sangakkara, who scored two ODI tons against Pakistan, scored 112 against the Men in Green in 2008.
#3 Fastest century by a wicket-keeper in ODI World Cup history
One more significant record that Mendis broke on Tuesday is of becoming the wicket-keeper with the fastest century in ODI World Cup history.
Interestingly, it is another landmark where he surpassed Kumar Sangakkara on the list. While Mendis made his century in 65 balls, Sangakkara made his fastest ODI World Cup century in 70 balls, which has now moved to the second spot on the list.
#4 Highest score in PAK vs SL ODI World Cup fixtures
While Pakistan have a one-sided 7-0 record against Sri Lanka in World Cup fixtures, Lanka's Kusal Mendis now holds the record for the highest individual score in the two teams' clashes at the showpiece event.
In fact, Mendis became the first-ever player to hit a century in ODI World Cup matches between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
It is pertinent to note that later in the Sri Lankan innings in Hyderabad, Sadeera Samarawickrama also racked up an impressive century. Samarawickrama scored 108 runs, which is the second-highest individual score in the World Cup games between the two Asian rivals. Mendis' 122-run knock is on top of the list.
#5 First ever wicket-keeper to score two consecutive 50+ scores with 150+ strike rate in ODI World Cups
Kusal Mendis has been on fire with his masterful displays with the bat for Sri Lanka. After his magnificent century in a warm-up game against Afghanistan, Mendis began his 2023 ODI World Cup campaign with a flashy 42-ball 76 against South Africa in Delhi.
He has continued his ominous form against Pakistan and notched up a brilliant century. In doing so, Mendis became the first-ever wicket-keeper in ODI World Cup history to hit two consecutive 50+ scores with a strike rate of over 150.
Mendis' strike rate against South Africa was 180.95, while he struck at a rate of 158.44 in the clash against Pakistan.
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