On the second day of the second Test against New Zealand, Kamindu Mendis marked an outstanding feat as he became the first batter to score a half-century in eight consecutive Test matches since his debut. Most successive 50+ scores Since Test Debut Name of the Batter Number of Matches Kamindu Mendis 8 Saud Shakeel 7 Bert Sutcliffe 6 Saeed Ahmed 6 Basil Butcher 6 Sunil Gavaskar 6 Kamindu Mendis rewriting the record books! 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/d5l4uwIdRe — Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) September 26, 2024 Sri Lanka vs New Zealand: 2nd Test Day 1 – HIGHLIGHTS A century from Dinesh Chandimal and half-centuries by Angelo Mathews (78* not out) and Kamindu Mendis (51* not out) gave Sri Lanka an authoritative position on first day of the second Test, at Galle International Stadium. Evidently electing to bat first, Sri Lanka got off to a poor start as early as the first over with Pathum Nissanka going out to Tim Southee. Thereafter, an excellent 122-run partnership between Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal helped the side get back in contention. It had been a highly satisfactory day for the Lankans finishing on 306/3 in 90 overs at the end of Day 1. Also Read | Angelo Mathews Reaches Major Milestone, Joins Tendulkar and Dhoni in the List New Zealand bowlers could not get any momentum and failed to pick more than one wicket from either session. They also made it a lousy fielding day, dropping three catches in total, two of which were off William O'Rourke's bowling and one due to a stumped missed by Tom Blundell. Karunaratne lost his half-century when he was run out after a mix-up with Chandimal. Thereafter, Angelo Mathews came to the crease and added a solid 97 runs partnership with Chandimal. Chandimal himself celebrated his 16th Test century during the second session before Glenn Phillips got the better off him. Kamindu Mendis came in at number 5 and created an immediate impact hitting a few fours off the Southee overs. When New Zealand pulled out the second new ball, Sri Lanka's hitters still managed to hit the boundary a few times. Then, Daryl Mitchell couldn't hold onto the slip catch for Mendis and Tom Latham missed the opportunity to dismiss Mathews shortly after that. Mendis finished his fifty with a reverse sweep and took Sri Lanka into the end of Day 1 with full control.