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

Sri Lanka and Namibia locked horns against one anor in first match of Round 1 of ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup on Sunday. Sri Lanka started game with a bang as y picked three wickets in 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 5th over.

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

Namibia vs Sri Lanka: As it happened

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

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

In second innings, Namibia bowled Sri Lanka out for just 108 runs in 19 overs. Namibia won 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 player of match for his all-round performance in game. win has given Namibia a chance to top ir group and qualify for Super 12 stage of T20 World Cup. 

Image: ICC