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Kusal Mendis’ poor run of form continued as he was dismissed for his fourth consecutive duck in Tests. Coming in to bat at number 3 against England in the first Test in Galle today, Mendis was out in the second ball. He hung his bat outside the off stump and nicked the ball to English wicket-keeper Jos Buttler, who took a smart catch. At the time of writing, Sri Lanka are struggling at 47-3 on Day 1.
With his latest exploit, Kusal Mendis joined a list of distinct players who have achieved the unwanted feat of scoring four consecutive ducks in Test innings. Batting in top six, Kusal Mendis equalled the likes of Pankaj Roy, Mohinder Amarnath and Mark Waugh, all of whom managed four consecutive ducks in their Test career. Surprisingly, Danny Morrison has the most ducks while batting in top six, as he has five successive zeroes to his name.
Along with Morrisson, who was often deployed as a nightwatchman by New Zealand, the record for the most consecutive ducks in Tests is shared by Bob Holland, Ajit Agarkar and Mohammad Asif. Kusal Mendis would surely not want to join that list when he comes out to bat in the second innings against England.
Kusal Mendis’ Test career at a glance
Sri Lanka were recently whitewashed by South Africa in a two-match Test series. Kusal Mendis could only manage 12 runs in the entire tour, all of which came in the first innings of the first Test.
Mendis has undoubtedly blown hot and cold in his career so far. He has shown promise at times but has had some bad run of form as well. Barring today’s Test, Kusal Mendis has played 46 matches for Sri Lanka and has scored 3007 runs at an average of 35.37, including seven centuries and 11 half-centuries.
However, the right-handed batsman can’t seem to score a run at the moment. Mendis would have to tighten his defence if he doesn’t want to create some more unwanted records.
Published 14 Jan 2021, 12:25 IST
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