Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Kusal Mendis Taken to Hospital

Kusal Mendis was taken to the hospital after he suffered cramps after his scintillating century in Sri Lanka’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 clash against Pakistan at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) took to social media to give an update on Kusal’s condition.

“Kusal Mendis was taken to the hospital after the player suffered cramps upon returning from the field after his brilliant knock of 122 runs from 77 balls in the ongoing game vs. Pakistan,” SLC posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Dushan Hemantha is on the field for Mendis, while Sadeera Samarawickrama has taken over the wicketkeeping duties in the absence of Mendis,” Sri Lanka’s cricket board added in their post.

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Jusal and Sadeera Samarawickrama slammed magnificent centuries as Sri Lanka dished out a dominating batting performance to post a challenging 344/9 against Pakistan.

Mendis’ 77-ball 122-run knock was the fastest hundred by a Sri Lankan in World Cup history, while Samarawickrama picked up his maiden ODI ton with a 89-ball 108 as the islanders posted their highest World Cup total against a Full Member.

The 28-year-old Mendis batted with absolute authority, clobbering six maximums and 14 fours. He starred in two 100-plus partnerships with Pathum Nissanka (51) and Samarawickrama to take Sri Lanka across the 200-mark in the 28th over.

Once Mendis was dismissed, Samarawickrama took the onus and paced his innings superbly, using his cuts and drives as Sri Lanka kept accumulating runs with ease.

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He cracked 11 boundaries and two sixes in his 89-ball knock.

“Really happy about the performance in this match. I didn’t get a hundred before. I badly wanted to get a hundred in my career, I am really happy today. Pathum Nissanka and Kusal batted really well, my plan was to be bat positive and give the strike to Kusal Mendis. We both batted really well in that period. That was a great partnership. In the first few overs, when I was batting, the wicket was really good,” Samarawickrama said at the endof the innings.

“Last 15 overs, the fast bowlers got some grip. I think it wasn’t easy to bat on in the last few overs. After the new ball, pace off is a good option on this wicket,” he added.

For Pakistan, Hasan Ali (4/71) claimed four wickets and Haris Rauf (2/64) snapped two but overall it was a poor outing for the bowling unit, especially Shaheen Afridi (1/66 in 9 overs) and Shadab Khan (1/55 in 8 overs).

(With inputs from Agencies)