Pathum Nissanka’s Bat Roars in T20 World Cup, Slammed Century and Created a Flurry of Records

Colombo/New Delhi, Feb 16: Sri Lanka’s star opener Pathum Nissanka delivered a breathtaking performance in the T20 World Cup 2026, smashing an unbeaten century against Australia and rewriting several records in the process.

Nissanka remained not out on 100 off just 52 balls, registering the first century of the T20 World Cup 2026. His explosive knock powered Sri Lanka to successfully chase a target of 183 runs, achieving victory with 12 balls to spare. The win also ensured Sri Lanka’s qualification for the Super-8 stage of the tournament.

First T20 World Cup Century Against Australia

With this knock, Nissanka became the first-ever batsman to score a century against Australia in T20 World Cup history. Previously, the highest score against Australia in the tournament was 94 runs by Pakistan’s Umar Akmal, made in 2014 at Mirpur.

Only Second Sri Lankan to Score a T20 World Cup Century

Nissanka also became only the second Sri Lankan batsman to register a century in T20 World Cup history. Earlier, Mahela Jayawardene had scored 100 runs against Zimbabwe in 2010.

Fastest Century by a Sri Lankan on Home Soil

Completing his century in 52 deliveries, Nissanka recorded the fastest T20I century by a Sri Lankan on home ground. The previous record was held by Tillakaratne Dilshan, who scored a century in 55 balls against Australia in 2011.

Reaches 2500 T20I Runs

During the match, Nissanka also crossed the milestone of 2500 runs in T20 International cricket. He entered the game with 2474 runs and reached the landmark while scoring his century. He is now the second Sri Lankan batsman after Kusal Mendis to achieve this feat.

Becomes Sri Lanka’s Leading Century-Maker in T20Is

This was Nissanka’s second T20 International century, making him the highest century scorer for Sri Lanka in T20I cricket. His first T20I century came last year during the Asia Cup against India, where he scored 107 runs.

Other Sri Lankan players to have scored T20I centuries include Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, and Kusal Perera, but Nissanka has now moved ahead of all of them.

With his sensational form and match-winning ability, Pathum Nissanka has once again proved why he is considered one of Sri Lanka’s most dependable modern-day batters in the shortest format.