Sunday, July 06, 2008

An Ajantha Mendis Show

Ajantha Mendis turned the game on its head when it looked like that the Indians will achieve the modest victory targetof 274 quite comfortably. Introduced after nine overs, when India were cruising at 76 for one with Virender Sehwag hitting everything as per his wish, Mendis changed the projection of the game with his double strike in the first over and from there was no respite for the Indian batsmen, who looked totally dumbfounded while facing Mendis.

The fact that not even a single boundary could be hit against Mendis clearly shows how flabbergasted Indian batsmen were against a novice.

Mendis’ figures of 6 for 13 are now the third best by any bowler against India after fellow teammate Muttiah Muralitharan and former Pakistan seamer Aaqib Javed. The following table lists the best bowling performances against India:

Best bowling figures against India

Figures Bowler Venue Year
7-30 M Muralitharan (SL) Sharjah 2000
7-37 Aaqib Javed (Pak) Sharjah 1991
6-13 BAW Mendis (SL) Karachi 2008
6-14 Imran Khan (Pak) Sharjah 1985
6-19 SE Bond (NZ) Bulawayo 2005
6-27 Naved-ul-Hasan (Pak) Jamshedpur 2005
6-29 BP Patterson (WI) Nagpur 2001


Mendis’ performance is now the best by any bowler rolling his arms over for the first time against India. West Indian pacer Patrick Patterson held the previous record. The details:


Best bowling figures on first appearance against India

Figures Bowler Venue Year
6-13 BAW Mendis (SL) Karachi 2008
6-29 BP Patterson (WI) Nagpur 1987
6-39 KH MacLeay (Aus) Nottingham 1983
5-22 AR Adams (NZ) Queenstown 2003
5-29 AA Donald (SA) Calcutta 1991
5-32 WJ Cronje (SA) Cape Town 1992


Mendis’ figures are also the third best by any bowler in a tournament final as is detailed in the following list:

Best bowling figures in tournament finals


Figures Bowler Opponent Venue Year Tournament
7-37 Aaqib Javed (Pak) v Ind Sharjah 1991 Wills Trophy
6-12 Anil Kumble (Ind) v WI Calcutta 1993 Hero Cup
6-13 BAW Mendis (SL) v Ind Karachi 2008 Asia Cup
6-59 A Nehra (Ind) v SL Colombo (RPS) 2005 Indian Oil Cup
5-14 WPUJC Vaas (SL) v Ind Sharjah 2000 Champions Trophy


Although it is too early to say, Mendis has shown that he has the potential to be one of the most successful bowlers on the international scene. Already he has taken two five-wicket hauls in his 8 matches. His tally of 20 wickets is second only to West Indian Ottis Gibson after exactly 8 ODIs.

Most wickets after 8 ODI matches


Wkts Bowler Avg SR Econ 5W
21 OD Gibson (WI) 16.38 19.95 4.93 1
20 BAW Mendis (SL) 10.25 16.80 3.66 2
20 SE Bond (NZ) 15.65 22.30 4.21 0
19 AB Agarkar (Ind) 19.42 21.32 5.47 0
18 CG Rackemann (Aus) 16.83 23.89 4.23 0
18 SK Warne (Aus) 12.11 23.33 3.11 0