It was disappointing to see India go down in the final after playing so well throughout. But if I have to draw some consolation, it is the performance of Ajantha Mendis, a fellow spinner, and all credit to him for the way he bowled. On flat pitches, bowlers have had a tough time and for someone to run through a batting line-up was a big achievement.
India’s top order made runs in the tournament and going by the way they played Mendis, it’s obviously not easy to pick him. When you’re struggling to pick a bowler out of his hand, the usual thing is to play him off the wicket. What was surprising was that many Indian batsmen did not pick his length early enough. The safest option, when you’re not quite sure which way the ball will turn, is to play straight and some of our batsmen made the mistake of playing across the line and paid the price.
Mendis uses a grip that you see quite often in tennis ball cricket, but to master this with a cricket ball takes some doing and he’s obviously managed that. He bowled wicket-to-wicket and employed subtle variations. It’s not that he spun the ball appreciably but he showed that when you are accurate, all it takes is small movement to beat the stroke. — For detailed report See Hindustantimes.com
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