Bad news for Dhoni & co. Mendis' six-wicket haul for the Board President's XI has put him back in contention to be part of the three-test series against India
Bad news for Dhoni & co. Mendis' six-wicket haul for the Board President'su00a0XI has put him back in contention to be part of the three-test series against India
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Ajantha Mendis is back again to haunt India's batsmen and with it, a nightmare returns.
He was rattling the ghostly chains of the 2008 tour as a chilling reminder in the tourists' dressing room on Day Two of this year's tour and the sounds are not a happy harbinger to the looming Test series.
A return of 6 for 67 in 17.2 overs for Sri Lanka Board President's XI tore up India's well-prepared batting script at the Colts Cricket Club yesterday leaving the captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coach Gary Kirsten facing the reality that in Sri Lanka, the Mendis bogey is alive and well again.
Dismissed in their first innings for 291 after the agony of their bowling attack being put through the thresher, conceding 514-9 in 104.3 overs, with the talented Dinesh Chandimal stranded undefeated on 47, the Indians no doubt felt they had a chance to earn some good batting practice on a surface that produces runs for those with solid technique and footwork.
His big game
With three of the old 'Fab Four' in the line-up, and Mendis facing the possibility that this is a game where he needs to prove himself, he teased, tantalised and bemused the Indian batsmen yet again. And this tree-lined oval is not even a Test venue.
It is of the old gymkhana style clubs and the pitch is the type where a Rip van Winkle can bat blindfolded and not worry too much about ball deviation.u00a0 As it is the club where Chaminda Vaas learnt his trade, it gives anyone visiting the ground an idea of what can be expected and how Vaas honed his skills.
Mendis, however, wrote his own script lines. His 26 Test wickets in his debut series of 2008 would be a distant memory after last year's disaster.
His nine wickets at 574 were at an inflationary price of 57.11 a wicket in three series and self-explanatory. He was pummelled in to submission in Kanpur, and Green Park served up better bowling conditions than those he bowled on in Day Two of the tour game, and a practice match that is starting show up disturbing foibles and flaws in India's batting.
Super Yuvraj
The only positive act for India was Yuvraj Singh's stylish 118, but for the rest, it is a matter of fathoming out what went wrong with their technique against Mendis.
Sachin Tendulkar falling across the line to be trapped lbw for four and VVS Laxman edging a catch to wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene off a Mendis delivery that bounced a little extra left the tourists with a lot of explaining to do and the embarrassment of a defeat looming as they trail by 223 runs.
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