Sri Lanka’s Kusal Perera began the new year in style by smashing a century in the third T20 International match against New Zealand. Perera became the first batsman to score an international century in 2025. He showcased brilliant batting at the Saxton Oval in Nelson, New Zealand, reaching his hundred in just 44 balls.
Riding on Perera’s maiden T20 International century, Sri Lanka posted a massive total of 218/5. He reached the milestone by hitting a six off Matt Henry’s over, where he struck three sixes in total. Perera displayed his explosive batting skills, punishing the host bowlers all around the ground.
Match Summary
In the third T20I, New Zealand won the toss and invited Sri Lanka to bat first. However, Sri Lanka’s start was shaky, losing two quick wickets at 42 runs. Opener Pathum Nissanka scored 14, while Kusal Mendis contributed 22 before getting out.
Kusal Perera then partnered with Avishka Fernando to stabilize the innings, adding 41 runs for the third wicket. Fernando departed after scoring 17 runs. After his dismissal, Perera found solid support from captain Charith Asalanka, and together they built a 100-run partnership for the fourth wicket, pushing Sri Lanka’s total to 183.
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Century with a Six
Charith Asalanka missed his half-century by just 4 runs, scoring 46 off 24 balls, including 5 sixes and 1 four. Meanwhile, Perera’s aggressive batting continued, and he brought up his century in style by hitting a six off the final ball of the 18th over. He eventually scored 101 runs off 46 balls, smashing 13 fours and 4 sixes.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Chamindu Wickramasinghe contributed 6 runs each, helping Sri Lanka post 218/5.
Kusal Perera’s Cricket Career
The 34-year-old Kusal Perera has played 22 Test matches, scoring 1,177 runs, including 2 centuries and 7 half-centuries. In ODIs, he has scored 3,237 runs in 116 matches, hitting 6 centuries and 17 fifties. Before this match, Perera had 15 fifties in 76 T20 Internationals, but now he also has a T20I century to his name.