Sri Lankan ace batter, Kusal Mendis, slammed a solid 143-run knock in the first ODI against New Zealand at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla on Wednesday. Kusal Mendis walked in when his side was 17/1. Alongside Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis added 206 runs for the 2nd wicket. Kusal Mendis’ 143 arrived from 128 balls. He slammed 17 fours and two sixes. Jacob Duffy dismissed him.
Kusal Mendis career-best 143 takes him to a total of 4,177 runs at an average of 33.95. In addition to 4 tons, he owns 31 fifties.
In 8 matches versus New Zealand, Kusal Mendis has amassed 187 runs at 23.37. It was Kusal Mendis maiden 50-plus score versus NZ. As per ESPNCricinfo, in 63 home matches, Kusal Mendis has smashed 2,215 runs at 40.27 (100s: 3, 50s: 17). All four of Kusal Mendis ODI centuries have come in Asia. Kusal Mendis has piled up 2,899 runs at 35.35. Kusal Mendis has managed 20 fifties alongside his 4 tons in Asia.
As per ESPNCricinfo, Kusal Mendis now owns the best score by a Sri Lankan batter in ODIs versus NZ. He overcame the previous best score of Sanath Jayasuriya (140).
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report: It is devoid of any grass and well rolled, the cracks are opening up. There is going to be spin and the batters need to find a method to excel on a pitch like this, reckons Aamir Sohail.
Toss : Sri Lanka skipper Charith Asalanka won the toss and chose to bat with 7 batters and 4 bowlers, with 3 all round options in the playing XI. New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner bowling first bought in 3 debutants in the form of Hay, Robinson and Nathan Smith in the playing XI.
Kusal Mendis 143 and Avishka Fernando 100 carries SL to 324 for 5
Earlier in the day was the tone for SL win was set up by tons from Kusal Mendis (143) and Avishka Fernando (100). The duo’s 206-run stand put the hosts en route to a formidable total on a good batting surface.
Early on, after Pathum Nissanka was dismissed, Kusal Mendis and Avishka gained significant momentum through the first powerplay, in which Sri Lanka scored 57 runs. In the fifth over, bowled by Jacob Duffy, Kusal Mendis smoked a straight drive, then crashed a short ball in front of midwicket to hit his first two fours of the innings. In the next over, bowled by debutant Nathan Smith, Avishka lifted a ball down the ground, then swivel-pulled another one over the fine leg boundary for six.
That period did have a hiccup – Kusal Mendis was dropped on 11 by Duffy, who could not hold a sharp return catch. But otherwise Sri Lanka’s progress was smooth. There was not as much turn as expected, and Kusal Mendis and Avishka settled into a steady rhythm of accumulation, both batters using the sweep to good effect when the New Zealand bowlers delivered consecutive dot balls.
Avishka was also strong over cover, going inside-out repeatedly, while Kusal Mendis found runs square of the wicket on the off side. They both milked the bowling of Ish Sodhi and Michael Bracewell, neither of whom were able to build pressure over substantial periods. Kusal Mendis got to his fifty off the 64th ball he faced, before Avishka got to his own half-century – his ninth – off his 60th ball.
They raised the tempo slightly after getting to those milestones, but largely batted in the same gear. Avishka was dropped on 77 by Sodhi in the outfield, though the fielder only really got fingertips to the chance. Kusal Mendis got to his century first, in the 37th over, off 102 balls. Avishka got there in the 38th. For both batters, this was their fourth ODI ton.
The centurions batted with fluency and poise, and compensated for the early loss of Pathum Nissanka who looked good during his brief stay out there. While Kusal Mendis continued his stellar form in 2024 across the white-ball formats, Fernando conjured a much-needed century, his first in the format since 2021.
The former was the aggressor for most parts and was particularly severe on spin. Fernando bided his time early on and then he too feasted on the spinners. New Zealand’s slow bowlers had a forgettable outing as they leaked 211 runs off the 33 overs bowled, conceding at 6.39 runs-per-over with just two wickets between them.
Avishka was out soon after, caught at mid-off, but the partnership had delivered Sri Lanka to the brink of the death overs. At his fall the total was 223 for 2 in the 39th over.
Both Kusal Mendis and Charith Asalanka were effective through the last 10, Kusal largely bashing spinners down the ground while Asalanka found runs square of the wicket. The rain returned with Asalanka being caught on the square leg boundary, with four balls remaining. It had rained early in the match too, forcing a roughly 40-minute break in the first over.
The visitors did pull things back a bit towards the back end but by then, the damage was already done. Sri Lanka’s innings was cut short at 49.2 with heavy showers intervening for the second time in the day after having caused a 30-minute interruption at the start of the innings. This break, however, was extensive and reduced the contest to a 27-over chase for New Zealand. The Black Caps would have welcomed the shorter chase but in the end, they couldn’t execute their plans well enough.
Dilshan Madushanka’s 3-fer and spinners guide SL to 45 run victory in a rain curtailed match
In the end, a long rain delay meant New Zealand had a curtailed chase. But even their openers, who put 88 off 80 balls, weren’t quite keeping up with the required rate. Will Young made 48 off 46 and Tim Robinson 35 off 36. But they needed big fireworks from the likes of Glenn Phillips and Mark Chapman. They never came.
Chasing a target of 221 from 27 overs after a lengthy rain break, New Zealand seemed on course to get across the line through their openers Will Young (48 off 46) and Tim Robinson (35 off 36) but the introduction of spin triggered a collapse that virtually decided the result in favour of the home side. From 88/0, the visitors lost five wickets for just 22 runs in 29 deliveries and the chase never took off after that.
Once their opening pair was separated, New Zealand’s downfall was rapid and decisive. Maheesh Theekshana delivered the first two breakthroughs, having Robinson stumped, then Young bowled, in the same over, the 14th of the innings.
Henry Nicholls was then bowled off the inside edge by Asalanka, before Theekshana held on to a screamer off the bat of Chapman at short midwicket, also off the bowling of Asalanka. When Glenn Phillips sliced a Jeffrey Vandersay legbreak to point, New Zealand had lost their top five in the space of 28 balls. It was always going to be almost impossible to recover from there.
It did seem like the Black Caps would take the lead in the series while Young and Robinson were batting. The former in particular looked in fluent touch and showed glimpses of his heroics from the historic Test series win in India. Robinson, albeit scratchy, kept the momentum going along with his partner before falling to Theekshana, stumped in a bid to charge the spinner.
Young also fell to the same bowler soon, cleaned up in a bid to up the ante. Asalanka’s twin strikes of Henry Nicholls and Mark Chapman further dented New Zealand as they started to run out of wickets and momentum.
Of New Zealand’s players, Jacob Duffy came out of this match with perhaps the best performance, having taken 3 for 41 in his 8.2 overs. With the freshly-arrived Adam Milne likely to be fit for the second ODI on Sunday, Duffy has made a strong case that he should be persisted with. Of their three debutants (Nathan Smith, Mitchell Hay, and Robinson), Robinson showed the most promise in this match.
When Glenn Phillips fell to Vandersay, the game was all but done even with Michael Bracewell (34* off 32) trying his best from one end. The spin choke had completely taken the air out of New Zealand’s chase and Dilshan Madushanka (3-39) did a neat clean up job at the end by mopping up the lower order. It completed a convincing win for Sri Lanka.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Charith Asalanka the winning skipper said : (On being the golden arm for Sri Lanka) I can’t say anything, thinking what should I say. During the drinks break, we said we need to break the partnership and bowl tight overs, that was the only way we will win the game. It was tough with the wet ball, but the bowlers did an amazing job.
The toss was important because I wanted to bat first, it looked like a good, dry pitch. The best thing was both Avishka and Kusal got hundreds. When we started, we were short of a bowler and our plan was when the new batter comes in, I’ll bowl a few overs. So that was the plan with our bowling.
Mitchell Santner the losing skipper said : When you lose two set guys, it can be a challenge to get started on these wickets. When you lose wickets in clumps, it is always a challenge. With the rain and dew and the outfield getting faster, we were fairly confident.
It is one of those games where we did a lot of good things, but that five-over period while batting changed everything for us. We bowled pretty well, there was actually a great partnership from them to show us how to bat on this wicket. They bowled well in that five-over period and changed the game.
Kusal Mendis Player of the Match for his 143 runs said : Nissanka got out early, and then me and Avishka batted well for the next 10 overs. The wicket was a bit slow, some balls were coming on slowly and some were straight. We wanted to take it slow. My game is generally to attack and score early runs.
Kusal Mendis and Avishka Fernando made centuries, and put on 206 together to send Sri Lanka to a commanding score. Then, once rain had reduced New Zealand’s chase to 27 overs, Sri Lanka’s spinners reaped five wickets for 22 runs to derail the visitors after their openers had made a strong start.
In the end, New Zealand didn’t get close to the 221 they required off 27 overs. They puttered to 175 for 9, with too little firepower in their lower order to get them up with the required rate, and too much know-how in Sri Lanka’s attack to let them prosper after the collapse.
The primary architects of Sri Lanka’s victory, however, were Kusal Mendis and Avishka. Their partnership was the highest ever for the second wicket in men’s ODI’s between these sides. Kusal Mendis’s 143 off 128 was also his highest individual score. And their propelling Sri Lanka to their eventual 324 for 5, before rain brought a halt to their innings after 49.2 overs, was a huge step towards victory, because although this surface was not especially spin-friendly, no chasing team had made so much as 290 in Dambulla.
A very comfortable win for Sri Lanka here in a game that didn’t seem so straightforward when the second innings started. New Zealand got a great start through Will Young and debutant Tim Robinson, as they scored at more than six an over to stay in sync with the asking rate. However, Theekshana came in and got the first breakthrough, and that triggered a mini collapse as New Zealand went from 88/0 to 110/5.
The asking rate almost doubled after that period of dominance from the Sri Lankan bowlers, and New Zealand never really recovered. Bracewell couldn’t really get going as Theekshana and Fernando delivered solid death over spells, while Madushanka returned to claim three wickets. Earlier in the day, Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis got centuries in a rain-marred first innings as Sri Lanka put on a big score. A fairly comfortable win for Sri Lanka who continue their home dominance. The action shifts to Pallekele this Sunday for the second ODI.