Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis celebrates his fifty runs during the second ODI cricket match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, July 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)It’s a mystery that Kusal Mendis has not yet become a superstar. Blessed with technique, temperament and strokes, he averages a middling 34.84 in ODIs and 36.87 in Tests. In 50-overs he has only five hundreds in 142 innings (34 fifties) and 10 in 135 Test outings. A couple of days ago, Sri Lanka’s batting coach Thilina Kandamby lamented his tendency to fritter away starts, like he did in the second ODI against Bangladesh, after reeling out a half-century in 20 balls.
“He gave us a cracking start in the first game too and is an experienced player, and he has played a lot of cricket. He has to understand that now, and he needs to convert those starts into hundreds. If he scores a hundred, we win 90 to 95% of our games. He knows that too,” the coach said.
Since last October, he has been Sri Lanka’s mainstay in ODIs, having logged 676 runs in 11 outings, with an average of 75.11 and strike rate of 106.96. “When you are in such good form, it’s a crime to throw away your wicket. He could have easily gone on to score 150 to 200 runs in the first match. We chatted about how to rotate the strike and other crucial aspects of batting,” the coach added.
In the third ODI, the series decider, he acted to the coach’s wish and scored a brilliant 124 off 114 balls in Sri Lanka’s total of 285 for 7. His was a more patient innings, taking 58 balls to reach his half century before racing to his next fifty in 37 balls. It was a typical knock, replete with easy drives, fierce cuts, swivel pull and flat sweeps, studded with 18 fours.
However, his departure precipitated a collapse and a total that once seemed to soar over 300, especially during his 124-run stand with Charith Asalanka, settled at 285/7. Sri Lanka managed only 31 runs in the last 26 balls on a flatbed.
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