The incident happened in the 55th over of Sri Lanka’s innings. With wickets falling at the other end, Kamindu Mendis freed his arms, hoping to accumulate as many runs as possible. Off the third ball, he pulled Olly Stone for a four through deep square leg. The next ball was hooked for a six in the same region, but finer. The ball soared high in the sky, landing in the Lord’s pavilion. In the process, the ball hit one of the spectators, who flinched due to the awkward bounce generated after hitting the surface.

Interestingly, the play came to a brief halt after that. The players on the ground were seemingly concerned about the fan, wondering whether he was okay. In a dramatic turn of events, the stoppage led to an immediate wicket off the next delivery. Ollie Pope had a shy at the stumps and ran out Lahiru Kumara at the non-striker's end, ending his 22-ball run-less vigil. Sri Lanka slipped to 195-9.

Mendis continues his rapid rise

Mendis didn’t add any runs to his tally after that, ending on a 120-ball 74, with Sri Lanka being dismissed for 196 in reply to England’s 427 in the first innings.

Gus Atkinson joined an elite all-round club in record time with his stunning century at Lord’s 💯

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— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) August 30, 2024

Though Sri Lanka are struggling, Mendis is personally having an excellent series. In the first Test, he scored a 183-ball 113 at No.7 in the second innings, continuing the impressive start to his Test career. With this half-century, he now has the fifth-most runs (627) by a batter in their first eight Test innings. Mendis went past Brook’s tally of 623 runs. The feat is extraordinary considering where he bats.

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