The first day of the Second Test between India and Sri Lanka at Galle revealed that on wicket which offers him no purchase, Mendis is bowler who has five or is it six different grips. Not one ball turned.
If at all he beat the batsmen, it was either due to the batsmen playing for the spin and the ball going straight through or because the batsmen closed the face of the bat too early.
Mendis first spell of 6 overs cost him 37 runs is further evidence to his ineffectiveness on a wet pitch.However, one has to admit, with Sehwag on a song it is foolish to be dismissive of any bowler.
Lets see how he fares in the coming days.
Having sounded the caution , this blogger still stands by his opinion that unlike his fellow countrymen Murali, Mendis bowling is spiteful only on a dry or dusty track.
21 comments:
He has struck back with 2 wickets. Sehwag is playing one match - others are in a different match :-) The bulk of the middle order is woefully out of form (hard to assess Mendis). Viru to the rescue I hope (with VVS).
I'm sorry, but it is a bit off topic. Ott, I need some info about an Ayurvedic cancer hospital in Kerala for someone urgently. Do you know about this place in Calicut...http://www.ayurvediccancertherapy.com/contact.aspx. Have you heard of this place and how level are they with their claims?
I really do appreciate any help on this, Ott for I have to forward the info to the concerned people abroad who are now turning to Ayurveda for their child's recurrent problem. Thanks.
RS,
Yep, the match has turned on its head.
However, I still stand by my opinion that he fools his batsmen by his grip. He cannot turn the ball unless the pitch helps him.
Soulberry
There is a sidha cure centre in a village near cheyyar in Tamil Nadu.I forgot the name of the village. I hope u can get some more details from the internet if it is still functioning.
Otty, we will pay again eat mud if we under estimate Mendis. How many spin bowlers bowl well on the first day. He has already bagged two wickets Mendis in my opinion is a 500 plus wicket prospect.
Soulberry,
I have no personal info. However, I am trying to get in touch with an acquaintance of mine who stays in Calicut.
Please give me some time I will get back to you as soon as I get in touch with him.
R,
The Siddha cure centre is in Vandavasi and if I am not mistaken it is called Judge Thottam or some such.
Coming back to Mendis, I am not under estimating him. I am saying that on unresponsive pitches, he is just a bowler who has five or six different grips which fools the batsmen.
Soulberry,
Contacted my friend. He has never heard of this place.
He has assured me he will enquire and let me know the genuineness by Monday.
Thanks Ottayan. I'll wait.
India do the jelly act again today. What's with them? Why play when not 100% in it.? Just because you can play?
Soulberry,
You are alluding to Dravid?
Ott, in the case of the Big3, blame is often well placed if placed on all of them. While Dravid need be spared for being wrongly given out (32e of the laws), that certainly could have been a better shot. Tendulkar and Ganguly had their minds elsewhere apparently.
Meanwhile I too had my rush of pleasure as Sehwag and Gambhir hit Mendis and Murali. Yes, Mendis does seem a bit flat now. But let's see what happens in India's second innings on this crazy pitch.
I always thought Dravid was a better player of spin than Tendulkar, So if Mendis could get Dravid everytime, he should be talented??
VMM,
Remember the old Tamil saying, Pattakallil padum?
I think it holds true in Dravid's case.
He is going through the horrors.
BTW,I would excuse Ganguly - granted he had no business poking at a ball outside the off stump - atleast the ball teased him into a false stroke.
However, what was Tendulkar doing - he completely misread the line.
I think Tendulkar needs to go back to domestic cricket and get his batting radar going.
Yep - it was thrilling to watch Sehwag toying with the bowling. I remember experiencing the same heart - in - the mouth feeling when I watched Sreekanth bat.
Slog,
I am not saying he is untalented. What I am drawing attention to is the fact, he is a bowler who confuses the batsmen with his grip and if you try reading the ball from his wrist you are doomed.
(Sehwag said in the post - match press conference that he was reading Mendis off the pitch. BTW - I wrote the post well before that.:))
Also what I was implying was on a pitch like the first day pitch at Galle he gets no turn whereas Murali was getting appreciable turn.
Otty How do our bowlers bowl on unresponsive pitches. The moment they think the pitch is unresponsive their heads droop and wait for the batsman to commit mistakes.
The tendency to theorise evrything is the bane of our cricket. But we will never get over this.
Vmmnerva
The ball hit the helmet,acording to our players. But if it did , it appeared AFTER touching his hand Is he out then or not? Can someone clear this. If Dravid was sure why didnt he ask for a referal, what prevented him.
Generally I think our players are whining too much.
R,
This is a U/A rated blog and as my opinions about our bowlers may border on the profane I refuse to take your bait.
If by theorizing you are taking a dig at my habit I plead guilty. What else can an arm chair critic do? :)
I was refering to the theorising by our experts not by you and me coz they carry no value. I prefer analysing to theorising.
I think we have ruined the career of quite a few cricketers by this habit.
The damp squib took six wickets on a wet pitch, the best way to play him is to read his grip unless you are a master at playing the ball late.
I think we should give the guy the credit which he deserves he is a good bowler, if anyone deserves criticism its the fancied batting line up which failed three times ina row, the same three guys are scoring each time.
Wasim,
Read my post carefully. What I had drawn attention to was the fact that Mendis cannot turn the ball on a wet pitch.
I have also said in the last sentence that Murali is a far lethal bowler on any conditions.
I never said he is untalented.
Coming to reading Mendis out of his hand - I think you are wrong.
Mendis USP is that he grips the ball one way and the ball on pitching goes the other way.
So it is a fallacy to keep on harping on the fact that you should read him off the hand. You should read him off the pitch.
(In one of my earlier comments I have quoted Sehwag saying the very same thing.)
All said and done, it is too early to call Mendis a great bowler - I am sure during the Third Test, he will have a lesser strike rate.
Otts watch the highlights again he did turned the ball.
Btw who took more wickets in this match so far Murali or Mendis?
I am not drawing any comparisons between the two as Murali doesn't have to prove himself but if a young bowler equals his feat in a match or eclipse him in the next match then he has to be noticed and given some respect.
Well you are acknowledging the fact that he has different grips and he doesn't turn the ball in different directions with the same grip or action then think what will be easier to focus on his grip and take out unpredictability or keep guessing off the pitch?
I have seen and played many bowlers like him in pakistan of course with a tape roll ball and none with a cricket ball but with the same action and grip and believe me its very hard to pick a bowler like him off the pitch.
So many batsmen have been reading,studying,analysing the grips of Warne, Kumble and Murali over the years and they have wickets plenty(700) against their names.How come. There is an element of luck involved in tackling bowlers boldly. Sehwag had it this time.
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