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Now that another Kamindu Mendis century/milestone/diss track has dropped, guys, grab some popcorn.
He has now scored eight hundreds in eight consecutive Test matches, five hundreds in 13 Test innings (his most recent innings of 182 not out being his best yet), and he is the fastest Asian to achieve that accomplishment overall. He also happens to be the third-fastest ever, matching Don Bradman’s record.
Is he still not finished? Oh, and he became the third-fastest person to reach 1000 Test runs, matching Bradman once more.
Which is why it’s kind of funny that he was benched from the Test team for two years in 2022 despite scoring fifty runs on his debut against Australia. Though it’s possible to doubt the selectors’ reasoning at this stage, perhaps we should express gratitude. The guy truly does make the rest of us look horrible.
It appeared as though even the gods of the weather were stunned into inaction, possibly by his magnificent drives upward. As you can see, an extreme weather warning was really issued for the whole Galle district, but rain never materialised, even though overcast clouds prevented the sun from shining during the day.
Aside from his numerous accomplishments and records, Kamindu’s most notable quality may be that his presence alone has quietly caused the playing XI to undergo a dramatic shift.
His captivating performance in 2024 didn’t take long to spark calls for him to be promoted. Hence, the plan was to move Dinesh Chandimal to position three and hand the reins to Kusal Mendis, who would then drop to position seven. Kamindu, for his part, would advance to No. 5.
Despite the tiny sample size since the changeover, the findings are self-explanatory.
Naturally, Kamindu hasn’t missed a beat, simply carrying over from his No. 7 performances. He’s improved if anything, and the only reason he didn’t reach a maiden double-century was because of a prearranged declaration. “After the play of the day, Angelo Mathews explained that at tea, the talk was to bat for 15 overs before declaring.”
Since taking up the position at the beginning of the series, Chandimal has thrived at three thanks to his flexible approach, scoring 30, 61, and 116 in three innings. Meanwhile, Kusal has thrived at seven, where his innate attacking instincts can mean the difference between a winning total and a competitive one.
This purple patch of course isn’t going to go on forever, but for now, more than speculating on how long he can carry on this form, maybe we should all just sit back and enjoy the show.