Kamindu Mendis becomes fastest to 1000 runs in 75 years
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In the second Test match against New Zealand in Galle on Friday, Sri Lankan all-rounder Kamindu Mendis achieved a remarkable feat that has placed him in the company of the great Don Bradman: he became the joint third-fastest player to reach 1000 Test runs in just 13 innings.
Everton Weekes of the West Indies and Herbert Sutcliffe of England are the only two players to have scored a thousand runs in fewer innings—both of them did so in just 12. As Kamindu reached fifty, he also made history by being the first player to score fifty or more in each of his first eight Test matches. Later on, he scored his second and fifth centuries in consecutive Tests.
He walked down the track to Rachin Ravindra and hit a six over the bowler's head to complete his 1000 runs. With this achievement, he becomes the fastest Asian to reach 1000 runs, beating India's Vinod Kambli, who did it in 14 innings, as well as the fastest Sri Lankan, beating Roy Dias, who did so in 23 innings.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, another Indian batsman, is one of the fastest to reach 1000 runs; he did so in 16 innings. As Sri Lanka declared the match, Kamindu was unable to record his first double-century. With an astounding 182 runs off 250 balls, he hit 16 boundaries and four sixes to end the innings on a high.
“Kamindu Mendis has been sensational for us this year,” teammate Angelo Mathews said.
“He is doing stuff that none of us were able to do early in our careers. He is very mature, knows his game, and plays very positively. Even in the first Test, we were under tremendous pressure after a collapse, and he rescued us with a hundred. In the second Test, the pitch was not doing much, but his concentration was amazing. He just kept on batting. It was a terrific knock.”
Kamindu has proved his worth across different conditions, he noted.
“He was player of the series in Bangladesh this year when wickets weren't the easiest to bat on. Then, when we went to England, it was seaming all over, and he batted so beautifully. Now, here, on turning tracks, he has looked a class apart,” Mathews added.
