Kusal Mendis is clearly seeing the ball well again. An 84 in the second Test against Bangladesh was followed by 45 from 43 balls in the first ODI, then a blistering 50 from just 20 deliveries in the second – the quickest one-day fifty ever recorded at Khettarama.
Those flashes, welcome as they are for Sri Lanka, now need substance, according to batting coach Thilina Kandamby, who spoke on the eve of Wednesday’s series decider in Pallekele.
“He gave us a cracking start in the first game and is an experienced player, and he has played lot of cricket,” Kandamby said. “He has to understand that now, and he needs to convert those starts into hundreds. If he scores a hundred, we win 90 to 95% of our games. He knows that too.”
Kandamby was even blunter about the missed opportunity in the opening ODI. “When you are in such good form, it’s a crime to throw away your wicket. He could have easily gone on to score 150 to 200 runs in the first match. We chatted about how to rotate the strike and other crucial aspects of batting.”
The message is straightforward: fifties help, but hundreds finish contests.
Pitch likely to aid stroke-play
Sri Lanka believe conditions at Pallekele will support Kandamby’s ambitions. The coach expects a “batting-friendly” surface, noting that recent matches there have produced heavy totals. “Pallekele looks good for batting,” he said. “I think there will be good bounce as well. If you analyse the last few games at Pallekele, we had batting friendly tracks, and there’s been a lot of runs scored here in the past year. I hope that continues.”
Captain Charith Asalanka anticipated similar run-making conditions in Khettarama, only for the pitches to play slower than advertised. Pallekele, though, has a recent history of truer pace and carry, which should suit Mendis’ preference for driving on the up.
Why the conversion matters
Mendis has 52 ODI caps yet just two hundreds. His current purple patch offers an opening both for personal milestones and for Sri Lanka, who have struggled to post imposing totals first up. Converting a rapid start into a three-figure score would stabilise the middle overs and allow hitters like Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka to attack at the death rather than rebuild.
Bangladesh, for their part, know that chasing 280 feels manageable, but 320 on a fresh Pallekele strip may prove otherwise. Veteran seamer Taskin Ahmed acknowledged after the second ODI that the visitors “can’t afford Mendis batting into the 40th over”. The hosts see the same scenario as an opportunity.
As ever, the numbers tell only half the story; the next step is execution. Mendis’ challenge is clear – and so is the reward if he meets it.
