By Akshay Manwani
As it reads, Balapuwaduge Ajantha Winslo Mendis is enough of a tongue twister. To make matters worse, batsmen standing up to him are also left tied in knots as Mendis flaunts his carrom skills while on the cricket field. It has taken a bowler of Mendis’ repertoire to capture the imagination of bowling pundits, and there have been very few in recent times who have made a more convincing arrival on the international circuit. Mendis has proved to be the bete noire of the Indian batsmen with some cutting edge spin bowling.
Mendis had given more than just a polite introduction of his bowling repertoire when he made his debut in a one day game against the West Indies with figures of three for thirty-nine. It prompted the celebrated cricket writer Rob Steen to remark ‘I have just seen the future of spin bowling - and his name is Ajantha Mendis’. Next stop for Mendis was the Asia Cup where his tournament tally stood at an enviable 17 scalps. It included a sensational performance of six for thirteen in the final against the hapless Indian batsmen who clearly looked like they were caught in the wrong job. All of a sudden Mendis went from being a regular right arm over bowler to a seasoned practitioner with a voodoo-like effect with ball in hand.
The next chapter in his short international career is his outstanding contribution in the recently concluded Test match at Colombo against India. While figures of eight for 132 made him the first Sri Lankan bowler to get eight wickets in a match on debut, it was the lineup against which he managed the feat that deserves special kudos. V.V.S. Laxman, arguably the best player of spin in world cricket, was left embarrassed in both innings by the guile of Mendis as was the case with that other colossus of Indian batting, Rahul Dravid. By the end of the game M&M (read Murali and Mendis) had played a vital hand in challenging the notion that countering quality spin bowling comes naturally to Indian batsmen.
With Shane Warne having retired from the game and the careers of Muralitharan and Kumble entering the twilight zone, Ajantha Mendis gives much reason to celebrate. His success, largely by way of an unorthodox action, questions the limitations of copy book cricket. For a lad who served in active military as a Gunner in the Sri Lanka Artillery regiment, Mendis has done the Sri Lanka Army proud by attacking the opposition with a combination of deliveries, including the now famous ‘carrom ball’ released with the snap of his fingers. In the days to come, Ajantha guarantees Sri Lanka and the cricket fraternity a perpetual high.
