Kusal Mendis makes history, joins Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Joe Root in the elite club

Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis (AP Photo) Kusal Mendis joined an elite group with Joe Root, Virat Kohli and Steve Smith on his debut as Test captain after becoming the last batsman to score a century. The Sri Lankan made history against Pakistan on Wednesday, becoming the first player from his country to do so.Mendis, who took over as Sri Lanka’s full-time Test captain last month from Dhananjay de Silva, marked his managerial debut with a memorable unbeaten hundred. His knock also placed him among the prominent names in world cricket who started their Test captain career with a century.The 31-year-old reached the landmark with Razaullah’s boundary in the third delivery of the 92nd over.Mendis also played a key role in Sri Lanka’s recovery after the visitors were struggling at 155/4 in 42 overs. He combined with his fifth wicket partner to put together a massive 249-run stand.The achievement made Mendis the 37th cricketer overall to score a hundred in his first Test as captain. He is also only the second player after former England captain Andrew Strauss to score a century on his Test captaincy debut against Pakistan.The list of players who have performed the feat includes some of the biggest names in the game. India’s Virat Kohli scored 115 against Australia in Adelaide in 2014, while Steve Smith followed with 133 against India in Brisbane later that month. England’s Joe Root also kicked off a memorable spell as captain when he scored 190 against South Africa at Lord’s in 2017.Other notable names on the list include Sunil Gavaskar, Greg Chappell, Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen and Shubman Gill, who scored 147 against England in Leeds in 2025. South Africa’s Wiaan Mulder also made history with an unbeaten 367 against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in 2025.Mendis’s century also brought another significant personal milestone. During his innings, he crossed 13,000 runs in international cricket, becoming only the eighth Sri Lankan batsman to reach the mark in all three formats.Kumar Sangakkara remains Sri Lanka’s leading run-scorer in international cricket with 27,757 runs from 587 matches between 2000 and 2015. Mahela Jayawardene is second with 25,688 runs, followed by Sanath Jayasuriya with 20,966.