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Kusal Mendis and others who reached their maiden Test hundreds with a six

Batting against Australia in the first Test of the 3-match Test series at Pallekele, Kusal Mendis reached his maiden Test hundred in some fashion.

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Kusal Mendis scored his maiden Test century to lift his team out from a pressure situation © Getty Images
Kusal Mendis scored his maiden Test century to lift his team out from a pressure situation © Getty Images

Kusal Mendis, Sri Lanka’s middle order batsman against Australia in the first Test at Pallekele of the three-Test match series got to his maiden Test hundred with a six, thereby adding his name to a list of batsmen who have done so in the past. They say, scoring a hundred in Test cricket gives the ultimate joy to a cricketer. And while Test cricket is known to be a game of patience where batsmen usually prefer getting to their milestones in a slow and steady manner, not all batsmen adhere to this trend. While most prefer to take it slow after getting into the 90s in order to minimise risk of getting out, some try to race through the period in order to stifle the influence of the ‘nervous nineties’. LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: Sri Lanka  vs  Australia , Live Score, 1st Test match at Pallekele

Scoring a century in Tests is of utmost importance to all batsmen and with that thought they try to get there as safely as possible while the brash ones go for the big ones against all the odds. Sometimes the aggressive route does pay off.

In the first Test at Pallekele when Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 117 in the first innings and in reply Australia took a 86-run lead, the hosts needed someone to step to the task of staying at the crease and take charge of the game. Kusal Mendis then stepped up to the task of controlling the innings for Sri Lanka.

In spite of losing 2 wickets for just 6 runs, Mendis looked positive right from the start. He started playing shots all-around the park. He lost partners after small partnerships but finally found a companion in Dinesh Chandimal as the duo made things look easy in the middle.

And just when Lyon came on to bowl the last ball of the 43rd over of Sri Lanka’s second innings, Mendis with a slog sweep hit him for six to reach his first Test hundred. He raised his bat towards the crowd and enjoyed the moment. It was special not only because it was his first, but also because of the adversities it came under. The fashion in which he reach the milestone then added to the magnificence. Anyway, the table below lists all the players who got to their maiden test century with a six.

Maiden Test century with a six

Batsman Runs For Against Venue Season
Stanley Jackson 103 England Australia The Oval 1893
Ted Bowley 109 England New Zealand Auckland 1929/30
Paul Winslow 108 South Africa England Old Trafford 1955
John Benaud 142 Australia Pakistan MCG 1972/73
Ian Davis 105 Australia Pakistan Adelaide 1976/77
Kapil Dev 126* India West Indies Kotla 1978/79
Collis King 100* West Indies New Zealand Christchurch 1979/80
John Wright 110 New Zealand India Auckland 1980/81
DuleepMendis 105 Sri Lanka India Chepauk 1982/83
Aravinda de Silva 122 Sri Lanka Pakistan Faisalabad 1985/86
Greg Matthews 115 Australia New Zealand Brisbane 1985/86
IjazFaqih 105 Pakistan India Motera 1986/87
Chris Lewis 117 England India Chepauk 1992/93
Robert Samuels 125 West Indies New Zealand Antigua 1996
Craig McMillan 139 New Zealand Zimbabwe Wellington 1997/98
Ridley Jacobs 113 West Indies South Africa Barbados 2001
Michael Vaughan 120 England Pakistan Old Trafford 2001
Andrew Symonds 156 Australia England MCG 2006/07
Irfan Pathan 102 India Pakistan Bangalore 2007/08
Phillip Hughes 115 Australia South Africa Durban 2008/09
Mitchell Johnson 123* Australia South Africa Cape Town 2008/09
Eoin Morgan 130 England Pakistan Trent Bridge 2010
Harbhajan Singh 115 India New Zealand Motera 2010/11
Dean Brownlie 109 New Zealand South Africa Cape Town 2012/13
Steve Smith 138* Australia England The Oval 2013
Gary Ballance 104* England Sri Lanka Lord’s 2014
Sarfraz Ahmed 103 Pakistan Sri Lanka Colombo (SSC) 2014
Shan Masood 125 Pakistan Sri Lanka Pallekele 2015
Kusal Mendis 157* Sri Lanka Australia Pallekele 2016

– It was the only century in test career for Ted Bowley, Paul Winslow, Chris Lewis, John Benaud, Ian Davis, IjazFaqih, Collis King and Robert Samuels. Mitchell Johnson, Irfan Pathan, Dean Brownlie and Shan Masood have also scored only one century but haven’t retired yet.

– Till 2014, only one player from Pakistan had this distinction – Ijaz Faqih in 1986/87. But in about a year there have been two players who done this – Sarfraz Ahmed and Shan Masood.

– Phillip Hughes and Mitchell Johnson did in the same series in South Africa in 2008/09 – Only such instance.

– Ridley Jacobs scored three test centuries out of which two had come with a six, his first two.

Footnote Trivia – Most test centuries reached with a six

This is another record held by Sachin Tendulkar. He scored six test centuries with a six to which no one came near. The next highest is four by Ken Barrington. Batsmen who have completed three centuries with a six in Tests are Brian Lara, Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum and Kumar Sangakkara.

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