Sri Lanka seized control of the second Test in Colombo on Sunday by bowling Pakistan out for 90, the tourists' lowest total against Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka, with skipper Kumar Sangakkara unbeaten on 81, replied strongly to finish on 164 for three, a lead of 74.
Sri Lanka's unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis has said that during his meteoric rise in international cricket, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar was the most prized wicket, while Virender Sehwag the toughest to bowl to.
After dismissing India for 146 in 46 overs, the hosts raced to the victory target with 15.1 overs to spare.
Wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara on Sunday sympathised with Indian batsmen for the humiliation they received at the hands of Sri Lanka's dreadful spin combination -- Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis -- in their first Test at the SSC.
Ajantha Mendis might have created flutter in cricketing circles with his stupendous performance in the Asia Cup, but the Sri Lankan mystery bowler has failed to impress spin guru Terry Jenner, who has pointed out at chinks in his armour. Jenner feels Mendis lacks variety and still has a long way to go to prove his mettle in the international circuit.
Unlocking the Ajantha Mendis code on Sri Lankan pitches will not be difficult for Indian batsmen if they concentrate on his wrist movement, feels Test great Gundappa Viswanath. Viswanath said taking on Mendis in the upcoming Test series won't be difficult once the Indian batsmen carefully observe his wrist movement.
Young Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis said he was looking forward to bowl to the famous Indian batting 'quartet' in the Test series.
Harbhajan Singh does not doubt mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis' potentials but the star off-spinner believes it is old trickster Muttiah Muralitharan who would pose bigger threat for the Indian batsmen in the forthcoming Test series. Harbhajan heaps praise on Mendis, who ran through India's batting order in the Asia Cup final in Karachi, and said it was an extraordinary display of quality spin bowling.
Sri Lanka vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara said all his team members are safe and out of danger following the attack by gunmen on the team's bus near the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore on Tuesday morning. 'There are a few injuries but everyone is safe and all the players are out of danger,' Sangakkara said.
India won the toss and elected to bat in the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan spin sensation Ajantha Mendis will turn up for Rajasthan in the forthcoming Ranji Trophy season.
Bowler Chaminda Vaas could play his final Test after being recalled to the Sri Lankan side to face Pakistan starting on Monday. Vaas, 35, is expected to announce his retirement from Test cricket before the start of the third Test, which would be his 111th game in a 15-year career that has bagged 354 wickets.
Spin sensation Ajantha Mendis bagged three wickets as Sri Lanka scored a five-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the first game of the Canada T20 tournament in Toronto on Friday. The ICC's Emerging Player of the Year, finished with 3-15 and was named man of the match.
Ajantha Mendis claimed three wickets for nine runs as Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 48 runs in their concluding Super Eight match of the Twenty20 World Cup.
Admitting that Indian batsmen have started to unravel his secrets, Lankan spin sensation Ajantha Mendis said the 'Men in Blue' had played him relatively well in the ODI series.
Virender Sehwag's technique or the lack of it often invites criticism but Sri Lankan mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis says the swashbuckling right-hander is the only Indian batsman he found difficult to bowl to in the recently-concluded Test and ODI series.
Praising Sri Lanka's mystery bowler Ajantha Mendis's showing against the star-studded Indian batting line-up in the just concluded three-Test series, former Australian coach John Buchanan says the youngster should be judged on a long-term basis. "Mendis reminds me a bit of Johnny Gleeson, though he releases the ball much quicker, is taller and stronger. He also has good change of pace," he told newspersons in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Ajantha Mendis remained an unsolved mystery for the Indian cricket team during the Test series but skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni says the Sri Lankan spin wizard would not be much of a threat if openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir go after his loose deliveries in the one-dayers starting on Monday.
Statistical highlights at the end of fourth day's play in the third and final cricket Test between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo on Monday.
India's total of 329 is the lowest total to include a double century -- Virender Sehwag (201 not out). Gordon Greenidge had made 214 not out in West Indies' 344 for one against England at Lord's in 1984 and Len Hutton had recorded 202 not out in England's 344 against West Indies at The Oval in 1950.
Virender Sehwag scored an unbeaten 201 and Harbhajan Singh claimed four wickets as India restricted Sri Lanka to 215-5 at close on Day 2 of the second Test.
A spineless India slumped to their third heaviest Test defeat as Sri Lanka clinched the first Test by an innings and 239 runs with the spin combination of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis plotting the visitors' downfall in Colombo on Saturday. After enforcing the follow-on, Muralitharan (6 for 26) and Mendis (4 for 60) tore through the Indian batting order to bundle out the visitors for a paltry 138 to record Sri Lanka's biggest victory at home with a day to spare.
Foolish to focus only on Mendis: Dravid The Sri Lankan attack is not all about Ajantha Mendis. It will be foolish to focus only on the mystery spinner and ignore others, like Muralitharan and Vaas, warned former India captain Rahul Dravid.
Sri Lanka's new spin sensation Ajantha Mendis will be a threat for the Indian batsmen in their three-match Test tour beginning July 18, feels former India captain Sourav Ganguly.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes Sri Lanka's new bowling weapon, Ajantha Mendis, will provide the sternest of tests on their tour of the island.
Spinner Ajantha Mendis took four wickets and Kumar Sangakkara scored a meticulous century as Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 64 runs in their Asian Cup super league match.
With pitch deteriorating fast at the P Sara Oval in Colombo, Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga on Thursday said a 250-plus score would be enough to defend against the famed Indian batting line-up in the third and final Test.
Spinner Ajantha Mendis became the fastest bowler to take 50 wickets in one-day internationals as Sri Lanka defeated Zimbabwe by 130 runs in their first match of the tri-series tournament in Dhaka on Monday.
Zimbabwe suffered a humiliating nine-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka after being bowled out for just 67 in the second one-day international in Harare on Saturday. Spinner Ajantha Mendis took four for 15 and was ably assisted by pacemen Farveez Maharoof (three for 26) and Thilina Thushara (two for 17).
A Zimbabwean batting collapse ensured Sri Lanka an easy win in Harare on Thursday in the first of the five one-day internationals.
Zimbabwe captain Prosper Utseya believes Sri Lanka's new mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis could be a bigger threat than veteran Muttiah Muralitharan in their five-match one-day series starting on Thursday. Zimbabwe, struggling to stay afloat against a background of political turmoil, have not hosted an international side since West Indies won a five-match series 3-1 last December.
Sanath Jayasuriya and Sri Lanka's latest spin sensation Ajantha Mendis led Sri Lanka to a five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Canada Twenty20 final.
Test skipper Anil Kumble has come out strongly in defence of the starry Indian middle-order batsmen who came a cropper against the Sri Lankan spin duo of Ajantha Mendis and Muthiah Muralitharan in the recently concluded three-match series in the Emerald Isle which the visitors lost 2-1.
A wounded India would bank on its young blood to make amends for their humiliating loss in the Test cricket series against Sri Lanka as it takes on the hosts in the first of their five one-dayers in Dambulla on Monday.
Spinner Ajantha Mendis claimed 5-56 as Sri Lanka dismissed India for 249 on the first day of the third Test.
With the humiliating loss in Colombo still rankling the Indian cricket team, Indian opener Gautam Gambhir on Monday asserted that the visitors will find a way to tackle the menacing spin duo of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis in the second cricket Test starting July 31 in Galle.
Spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis bowled Sri Lanka to an innings and 239-run victory in the first Test against India on Saturday.
With the famed Indian batting order's reputation in tatters, a dejected India captain Anil Kumble on Saturday said his side will have to find ways to take on the Lankan spin duo of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis if they have to come back in the second Test. Muralitharan and debutant Mendis shared 19 wickets between them to hand the Indians a humiliating innings and 239-run defeat in the first Test.
Having bamboozled batsmen in the recent Asia Cup, Sri Lanka's 'mystery' spinner Ajantha Mendis sought to put Indian batsmen on the backfoot ahead of the Test series by Thursday disclosing that he was working on a new delivery to add more variety to his armoury.
India Test captain Anil Kumble is confident his experienced top order would cope with Sri Lanka's new spin sensation Ajantha Mendis. Mendis, 23, destroyed India's top order in the Asia Cup final earlier this month, claiming 6 for 13, but Kumble backed his strong Test line-up to cope better than the one-day team.
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