Kusal Mendis missed equalling Pakistan player Wasim Akram’s record for the most number of sixes in a Test innings when he fell short by just one hit during his 245 against Ireland on the fourth day of the second and final cricket Test at the Galle International Cricket Stadium as Sri Lanka went on to win the match and the series 2-0 on Friday.
Mendis smashed 11 sixes one short of Akram’s 12 made against Zimbabwe in 1996. Akram’s contribution was an unbeaten 257.
But Mendis joined a select band of elite batters featuring New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum and Nathan Astle, Australia’s Matthew Hayden and England’s Ben Stokes who have all also clobbered 11 sixes each in a Test innings that surpassed 10 made by England’s Wally Hammond in 1933 against New Zealand.
Mendis was dismissed with Sri Lanka’s total at 629, the third out, and his 11 sixes were of 13 scored by Sri Lanka at the time of his dismissal.
The second Test will also be memorable for opener Nishan Madushka who scored his maiden hundred that he converted into a double century (205) in only his third Test after entering the team as a replacement for Niroshan Dickwella.
Mendis also made his maiden double hundred but it came in his 58th Test as he hammered all the shots he wanted dispatching another 18 balls to the boundary for fours to add to his 11 sixes.