Mendis makes huge leap to pluck one-handed stunner vs Namibia, fans notice 'bit of Sanga'

Sri Lanka and Namibia locked horns against one another in the first match of Round 1 of the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup on Sunday. Sri Lanka started the game with a bang as they picked three wickets in the powerplay to immediately put Namibia under pressure. Dushmantha Chameera, Pramod Liyanagamage, and Chamika Karunaratne picked up a wicket each. However, what caught everyone's attention was a brilliant effort by Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis, who took a flying catch to dismiss Nicol Loftie-Eaton in the 5th over.

Netizens lauded Mendis for his incredible grab on social media and even compared the 27-year-old to the legendary Kumar Sangakkara. The official Instagram handle of the ICC shared a video, where Mendis can be seen taking a full-length dive to his left before taking the amazing catch. The post has garnered more than 36,000 likes since being uploaded a few hours ago. 

Namibia vs Sri Lanka: As it happened

As far as the match is concerned, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field first at GMHBA Stadium in Victoria. Batting first, Namibia posted a total of 163/7 in 20 overs courtesy of a brilliant batting performance from Jan Frylinck. The Namibian batter scored 44 off 28 deliveries before his magnificent knock was cut short by Danushka Gunathilaka and Kusal Mendis, who effected the run out to dismiss him. 

Stephen Baard (26), Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton (20), and Gerhard Erasmus (20) also contributed to the team's total. JJ Smit scored 31 off just 16 balls towards the backend of their innings to take Namibia's total past 160. Pramod Madushan Liyanagamage picked two wickets for Sri Lanka, while Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Chamika Karunaratne, and Wanindu Hasaranga scalped one wicket each. 

In the second innings, Namibia bowled Sri Lanka out for just 108 runs in 19 overs. Namibia won the match by 55 runs. David Wiese, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo, and Jan Frylinck picked two wickets each, while JJ Smit scalped one wicket. Frylinck won the player of the match for his all-round performance in the game. The win has given Namibia a chance to top their group and qualify for the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup. 

Image: ICC