Preying Mendis

The final, in the ultimate analysis, was all about the Indian batsmen’s inability to cope with the wiles of the mystery spinner from the Emerald Isle, Ajantha Mendis. K. C. Vijaya Kumar reports.

“Do you have any plans for Ajantha Mendis?” Coach Gary Kirsten’s answer during the pre-match press conference, was quick and taut. “Yeah we do have plans for him.”

Sadly the plans were never revealed as the mystery spinner snuffed nascent Indian hopes while helping defending champion Sri Lanka retain the STAR Cricket Asia Cup with a 100-run victory on a Sunday night when Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said, “I am happy to see happy people in the ground.”

The Sri Lankans were ecstatic, the crowd was enjoying their weekend trip to the National Stadium in Karachi and the Pakistan Cricket Board officials were happy as their security cordon helped bury the International Cricket Council’s dormant reservations over having the Champions Trophy here in September.

Happiness all around yet at the presentation party, the lone glum faces being those of M. S. Dhoni’s men on a day when many scripts were turned topsy-turvy. In the pre-final verbal volleys both the Indian and Sri Lankan camps found a common ground in their desire to bat first on winning the toss.

Yet Dhoni opted to field. “We have chased well in this tournament and I thought we would try it out and we also had an extra batsman (Robin Uthappa). In fact, we did well to restrict them to 273. But it was all about Mendis. We knew he was the surprise bowler and we just could not read him,” Dhoni later said.

“Ajantha is an aggressive bowler and in fact he wanted more close-in fielders than the ones I offered him,” quipped an amused Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene.

Another warning statistic of either score 300 plus or perish was also discarded as the Sri Lankans made their 273 from 49.5 overs look like the horizon that could not be touched. And with Mendis lending a helping hand through a six-wicket haul with the batsmen yet to classify him as either an off-spinner or a leg-spinner, India bowed out with 173 in 39.3 overs.

Virender Sehwag’s flair (60) and Dhoni’s doggedness (49) were minor speed breakers as the men from the Emerald Isles won their fourth Asia Cup.

The collapse against spin, an old Indian failing against Sri Lankan tweakers, began when Sehwag in a bid to stamp his supremacy over Mendis stepped out and ended up flailing his bat. Sehwag was gone and with Gautam Gambhir having earlier succumbed to Chaminda Vaas, India’s strength of strong opening partnerships was completely negated.

The middle order fell in a heap as Mendis spun his trap with ones that hurried through and a few others that turned and drifted without giving a clue at the time of release.

And Dhoni all through his post-match press conference kept muttering ‘Mendis’ as the Indian defeat was dissected. With India about to tour Sri Lanka, videos of Mendis will obviously top the priority in the Indian dressing room.

The evening was not just about spin and other turns as Sanath Jayasuriya’s 125 (114b, 9x4, 5x6), his 27th ODI hundred, helped Sri Lanka lift itself from a precarious 66 for four in 12 overs. After Sangakkara got run out and Ishant Sharma scalped three in his first spell, Jayasuriya kept playing the match with his patented style of instinctive genius and also made merry in an R. P. Singh over, hammering 26 runs.

The innings was not just about the slashes and pulls, it was also about a 39-year old’s energy and enthusiasm as Jayasuriya looked for the singles besides the big hits and the jump and clenched fist after reaching his hundred was a pointer to a fiery spirit that has bucked age.

Jayasuriya’s knock and his 131-run fifth-wicket partnership with T. M. Dilshan (56), turned the tide which later became a raging torrent in Sri Lanka’s favour thanks to ‘Man of the Match’ Mendis.

The Scores

Asia Cup Final, National Stadium, Karachi, July 6, 2008.

Result: Sri Lanka won by 100 runs.

Sri Lanka: S. Jayasuriya c Ishant Sharma b Sehwag 125, K. Sangakkara (run out) 4, M. Jayawardene c Rohit Sharma b Ishant 11, C. Kapugedera c Raina b Ishant 5, C. Silva b Ishant 0, T. Dilshan c Dhoni b Irfan Pathan 56, C. Vaas b R. P. Singh 19, N. Kulasekara (not out) 29, T. Thushara lbw b R. P. Singh 5, A. Mendis b R. P. Singh 8, M. Muralitharan c Dhoni b Irfan 2. Extras (lb-8, w-1): 9. Total (in 49.5 overs): 273.

Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-34, 3-66, 4-66, 5-197, 6-213, 7-236, 8-256, 9-264.

India bowling: R. P. Singh 9-1-67-3, Ishant 10-1-52-3, Irfan 9.5-0-67-2, Ojha 10-1-38-0, Sehwag 8-0-30-1, Rohit 3-0-11-0.

India: G. Gambhir c Dilshan b Vaas 6, V. Sehwag st. Sangakkara b Mendis 60, S. Raina b Mendis 16, Yuvraj Singh b Mendis 0, M. Dhoni c Sangakkara b Vaas 49, Rohit Sharma lbw b Mendis 3, R. Uthappa lbw b Muralitharan 20, Irfan Pathan c Jayawardene b Mendis 2, R. P. Singh b Mendis 0, P. Ojha (not out) 6, Ishant Sharma b Kulasekara 8. Extras (b-2, w-1): 3. Total (in 39.3 overs): 173.

Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-76, 3-76, 4-93, 5-97, 6-135, 7-154, 8-154, 9-160.

Sri Lanka bowling: Vaas 9-0-55-2, Kulasekara 6.3-0-26-1, Thushara 8-0-51-0, Mendis 8-1-13-6, Muralitharan 8-0-26-1.