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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