World
India
Kusal Mendis delivered a stellar performance in the second ODI against Australia at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday, February 14. The wicketkeeper-batter played a crucial knock of 101 runs off 115 balls, featuring 11 boundaries. His innings included key partnerships of 98 runs with Nishan Madushka and 94 runs with skipper Charith Asalanka for the second and fourth wickets, respectively.
A century for Kusal Mendis! 💯
Advertisement · Scroll to continueIncredible knock! #SLvAUS pic.twitter.com/H2CY9CTjDw
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) February 14, 2025
Advertisement · Scroll to continue
Mendis reached his fifth ODI century in the 44th over, taking a single off Aaron Hardie’s delivery. The 30-year-old celebrated by raising his bat and blowing a kiss to the sky. His knock helped Sri Lanka post a competitive total of 281/4. Asalanka contributed an unbeaten 78 off 66 balls, while Madushka added 51 off 70. Janith Liyanage also played a quick cameo, scoring 32 off 21 deliveries.
For Australia, Ben Dwarshuis, Aaron Hardie, Sean Abbott, and Adam Zampa picked up one wicket each. The visitors, led by Steve Smith, are now under pressure to level the series before heading into the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Sri Lanka already holds a 1-0 lead in the two-match ODI series after winning the first game by 49 runs at the same venue. In that match, Asalanka led from the front with a commanding 127 off 126 balls, while Maheesh Theekshana took four wickets to dismantle the Australian batting lineup.
With this match, Sri Lanka aims for a 2-0 clean sweep to avenge their Test series loss against Australia. However, they will not be part of the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, having failed to qualify after finishing ninth in the 2023 ODI World Cup points table. Meanwhile, Australia will kick off their Champions Trophy campaign against England in Lahore on February 22.
ALSO READ: Campa Cola Replaces Thums Up To Co-Present IPL 2025, Spends 200 crore
