With a mixed bag of googlies, off-breaks, flippers, top-spinners and leg-breaks up his sleeve, Ajantha Mendis has taken the world by surprise.
Anil Kumble says the young Sri Lankan spinner has great variety
MUMBAI: With a mixed bag of googlies, off-breaks, flippers, top-spinners and leg-breaks up his sleeve, Ajantha Mendis has taken the world by surprise and Indian Test captain Anil Kumble is no exception to agree that the Sri Lankan bowling sensation indeed has an outstanding talent pool.
In a media conference in Mumbai, Kumble said that though the spin bowler can be read by many batsmen, his unpredictable trajectory calls for trouble. “Mendis has a great variety of deliveries stacked up which come as a surprise to bowlers,” Kumble said.
Kumble, however, found some similarities between himself (at the beginning) and the new sensation, but admitted that the Sri Lankan has more variation. “Mendis has the advantage of leaving the batsman puzzled at the crease. Sooner or later, batsman will be able to read him better and he will have to change his style of bowling, just as any other bowler in international cricket,” Kumble added. He lauded the youngster on the carrom ball, a peculiar delivery mastered by Mendis, for which he uses the middle finger to flick the ball off at the batsman. “To attain this degree of proficiency in a trick generally played with a tennis ball is something commendable,” Kumble said.
“With someone like Murali bowling from the other end, things are much easier to handle. You get all the support you want from the bowler on the other end and that adds to your confidence,” Kumble said.
A deadly spin combination of Muttiah Muralitharan and Mendis saw the Indian batting line-up, full with experienced campaigners like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, fall like a pack of cards in the Test series and the first ODI in the ongoing Sri Lanka tour.
A deadly spin combination of Muttiah Muralitharan and Mendis saw the Indian batting line-up, full with experienced campaigners like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, fall like a pack of cards in the Test series and the first ODI in the ongoing Sri Lanka tour.
However, Kumble didn’t fall short of criticising the Indian team for poor form and lack of confidence on this tour. This, he believes, gave an extra edge to the Sri Lankan bowlers, who were already going great. Despite the poor show in the first of the five-match ODI series, Kumble said that he had full faith in the young guns of Indian cricket to clinch a series victory in the Idea Cup, which is currently tied 1-1.
Meanwhile, the highest Indian wicket-taker was quick to defend the Fab Four (Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman) on their performance in the just-concluded Test series. “I think it’s unfair on the players to face allegations of failure because of one bad series. Poor form is part and parcel of everyone’s game. They have served the country illustriously for 15-odd years and need to be recognised for that,” Kumble said.
On being asked about the upcoming home series against Australia, the captain preferred reserving his comments. “There is still one-and-a-half months to go for the series. I can’t say anything about it yet. Let’s hope for consistency and pray that everything goes well,” he concluded.
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