These Sri Lankan batters boast centuries in T20 World Cups
What's the story
The first century of the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup has come from Pathum Nissanka's blade. The Sri Lankan opener achieved this feat against Australia at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Monday. His unbeaten knock of 100 runs off just 52 balls helped Sri Lanka chase down Australia's target of 182 runs and secure their place in the Super Eight stage. On this note, we list down the SL batters with centuries in T20 World Cups.
#2
Pathum Nissanka - 100* vs Australia, 2026
Chasing 182 in the aforementioned game, SL lost opener Kusal Perera (1) cheaply. However, a 97-run stand between Kusal Mendis (51) and Nissanka put the Lankans in command. Nissanka's fearless strokeplay kept the chase under control as Mendis complemented him well. The former further added 79 runs with Pavan Rathnayake (15-ball 28*) as SL (184/2) prevailed in 18 overs. Nissanka's unbeaten 100 runs off 52 balls was laced with 10 fours and five sixes.
DYK
First-ever T20 WC hundred against Australia
Nissanka's century was a historic one as it was the first-ever hundred scored against Australia in a T20 World Cup match. The previous best score against Australia in this tournament was Umar Akmal's 94 runs in Mirpur back in 2014. The 27-year-old also became the first batter from his country to hammer multiple T20I tons (2).
#1
Mahela Jayawardene - 100 vs Zimbabwe, 2010
The only other Sri Lankan batter on this list is the legendary Mahela Jayawardene. The former Lankan skipper was on a roll against Zimbabwe in Providence in the 2010 T20 World Cup. While four of SL's top-six batters were dismissed in single digits, Jayawardene stood strong and made a breathtaking 100 off 64 balls while opening the batting (10 fours, 4 sixes). SL posted 173/7 and later won the run-curtailed game by 14 runs (DLS method).