Mendis developing new delivery
Sa'adi Thawfeeq
August 9, 2011
Ajantha Mendis, the Sri Lanka spinner who became the first bowler in Twenty20 International history to take six wickets, has said that he is in the process of developing a new delivery that he hopes to unveil in the near future.
Mendis bamboozled the Australia batting line-up in Monday's Twenty20, taking 6 for 16 off four overs as Sri Lanka successfully defended their total of 157 for 9 to win by eight runs and pocket the two-match series 2-0.
"I am developing a new ball but I haven't still tried it," Mendis said soon after being named Man of the Match. "Hopefully it will come out soon. I am very pleased to know that my effort is a world record. I didn't realize it was one. I really enjoyed what I did today and I am sure that it will give me confidence. I just wanted to bowl a good line and length and that worked off. The wicket also helped me a lot."
Mendis said that losing out on a place for the England one-day series was one reason why he was determined to succeed. "I worked extremely hard and put in lot of effort and when you work hard this is what happens. I worked extremely hard to get back into the team."
The game was slipping out of Sri Lanka's grasp when Mendis came on to bowl thanks to Shane Watson, who had bludgeoned 57 from 24 deliveries, and Mendis said his main intention was to curb the run-rate rather than take wickets. "I didn't want to give too many runs. We were trying to limit the runs more than pick up wickets. We had a plan and we bowled according to that plan. I mixed up my deliveries and I thought the catch Angelo Mathews took changed the complexion of the game."
Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Sri Lanka captain said he had every confidence in Mendis when he handed him the ball. "I knew the ball was going to turn and it was going to help him," Dilshan said. "He would be very handy for us throughout the ODI series."
Cameron White, Australia's Twenty20 captain, praised Mendis too but thought things would get easier for the visitors in the ODI series because the team would be bolstered by more experienced players.
"Mendis showed tonight, he's a very good bowler," White said. "Clearly six wickets in a Twenty20 game for under six runs is an unbelievable effort. A couple of senior players coming back into the side, like Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting they have seen a lot of Mendis so they'll have straight from the start have a bit more experience. I think the more you get to face guys like that whom you haven't seen as much, it becomes easier."
On his part, Mendis said that he doesn't intend to make many changes for the upcoming five one-dayers. "I just want to bowl line and length and do the variations right. If I bowl well I know I can take wickets."
