Sri Lanka batter closes in on Don Bradman and major Test records - Kamindu Mendis has the second-highest Test average after Don Bradman for batters with a minimum of 10 innings

Prolific middle-order batter Kamindu Mendis struck a fine hundred to rescue Sri Lanka from a precarious position as the hosts reached 302-7 at stumps on Day 1 of the first test against New Zealand.

With the half-century against New Zealand, Mendis has now scored 50 runs or more in each of the first seven Tests he has played. Pakistan’s Saud Shakeel was the first player to do so.

Kamindu Mendis has had a remarkable start to his Test career, scoring a fifty-plus in all seven of his matches, including a crucial century against New Zealand on Wednesday.

Kamindu Mendis with his hundred surpassed Sunil Gavaskar and equaled the record with Saud Shakeel. He now has fifty-plus scores in 7 matches since his Test debut