Mendis floats, Murali stings

During many endless debates recently over the newfound mystery spinner, Ajantha Mendis baiters fell in two categories.

During many endless debates recently over the newfound mystery spinner, Ajantha Mendis baiters fell in two categories. There were those who shook their heads, rolled their eyes and muttered 8220;no way8221; in utter disgust whenever there was talk about the new-freak-on-the-block bothering the Indian middle-order. They predicted a first-round KO in this bout between the heavyweight veterans and the debutant rookie.

Then there were others who were dismissive of the Mendis hype and spoke about the short lifespan of bizarre bowlers. They predicted this rare cricketing novelty would be in vogue for maybe a Test, a series or at best a season. When Mendis8217;s middle finger got compared to past players such as Gleeson and Iverson, these well-informed critics had a question ready: Do you know how many Tests Gleeson or Iverson played? In an era of frame-by-frame software dissection, Mendis wasn8217;t given a chance.

After Mendis8217;s first day on the field as a Test cricketer, the no-contest predictors are tongue-tied while those with the he8217;ll-be-sorted stance are silent but still manage a glum 8216;wait and watch8217; retort.

Mendis finished the day with figures of 18-3-58-1, numbers much inferior to the original freak Muttiah Muralitharan8217;s 15-3-38-4. Mendis got just one wicket but his 18-over unchanged spell showed he can ensure silence is maintained from his end while the master is at work.

No respite

After bowling a few full tosses in the initial overs while trying to get the loopy leg-spinners right, Mendis concentrated mainly on his two stock balls to tie down the Indian batsmen. And it wasn8217;t easy being an Indian batsman today.

One minute they were busy reading Mendis8217;s hand to see if this was the ball pushed by the middle finger that would accelerate after pitching and move to the right. The next minute they faced someone who they had grown up reading, but still hadn8217;t totally interpreted. They might have even succeeded in reading Murali from the hand but there was still prodigious spin to deal with. Despite their extensive homework, it was a tough 8216;spin class8217; today that was beyond the understanding of even the best students of the game.

The moment of the Test so far was the Rahul Dravid dismissal. The first ball of Mendis8217;s fourth over saw the highly avoidable nostalgia of the Asia Cup final as the 8216;man with many turns8217; jumped in the air with delight.

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In Mendis8217;s previous over, Dravid had been beaten while attempting to cut as the ball kept low. This time, Dravid got a delivery that the bowler, and perhaps Dravid too, will remember forever. Mendis pushed the ball with his middle finger like a carrom striker 8212; it hastened after pitching and there was a bit of movement, just enough, from middle to off. Dravid, on the backfoot, had too much to deal with in a fraction of a second and his off-stump was knocked back, giving Mendis his maiden Test wicket and his first international dismissal.

Perfect foil

Sachin Tendulkar was the only batsman who had a workable risk-free plan against Mendis. He met the bowler on the front-foot most of the time and once even swatted a slog-sleep to the fence. Sourav Ganguly had a close call, proven by the fact that skipper Mahela Jayawardene asked for a referral 8212; beaten on the front-foot as the ball moved from middle to leg. Laxman was beaten more than once outside the off-stump to the ball that straightened or slightly moved away. And while Mendis continued to impress, the world8217;s leading Test wicket-taker Murali was busy pecking away with wickets from the other end.

To call the rookie spinner the new Murali at this stage would be outrightly naiuml;ve and might see the 8216;he8217;ll be sorted8217; school of Mendis-doubters smirk all-knowingly. But seeing his long, disciplined spell at SSC on Friday, one thing was clear: As a perfect foil to Murali, he could help him take his Test wickets tally to heights that no one will surpass.