The lefthander relied to singles and doubles but also scored superb boundaries
Sri Lanka batter Kamindu Mendis was an unfancied choice by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction as they snapped him up for a base price of INR 75 lakhs.
There wasn’t much hype around the southpaw to get him many games, but in the intra-squad match in Hyderabad on Tuesday, he proved he was worthy of a spot in the middle-order once the season begins.
Walking in after the dismissal of Atharva Taide in the third over, Mendis enjoyed time at the non-striker’s end as opener Ishan Kishan hit SRH B bowlers all around the park.
He began his own carnage with a six off Sri Lanka teammate Eshan Malinga followed by a delightful cover drive off the next ball.
He even pulled off a superb reverse sweep off legspinner Rahul Chahar for a boundary over deep backward point. As SRH A crossed the 100 mark in nine overs, Mendis kept running the hard singles by pushing through gaps in the field to keep the scoreboard ticking.
He was presented a lifeline when he dropped on 34 off Tahir Bhat’s 12th over when he tried to pull at fine leg. The very next ball, Mendis smashed Bhat for a massive six over deep mid-wicket and followed it up with a similar six in the same over which went even farther than the first.
He then played a delightful paddle sweep off Rahul Chahar, a rare shot seen in modern cricket, for a boundary followed by a terrible overthrow off which he got six runs. The gift of four extra runs by SRH B fielders helped Mendis get to his half-century off 27 balls.
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He took SRH A’s score past 150 in the 14th over with a massive six on the leg side in Abhishek Sharma’s bowling.
Rahul Chahar brought an end to the left-hander’s knock of 60 runs in 30 balls with a googly as Mendis hit it straight to the fielder at long-off.
Mendis’ contribution was significant as SRH A posted a massive score of 222/8 in 20 overs. Malinga was the pick of SRH B bowlers with three wickets but he also carted for 59 runs from his four overs.
Mendis, who is looked at as a longer formats player, has proven himself as a capable T20 batter in the Lanka Premier League scoring 782 runs from 34 innings with five fifties and a strike rate of 122.
He has the ability to anchor the innings for SRH in the IPL if he sent in to bat No.4 or No.5 depending on the situation.
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