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
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