The 25-year-old spinner took six for eight against Zimbabwe — the best figures in all Twenty20 cricket — in a group D match before a side strain ruled him out of his team’s second outing, against South Africa at Hambantota. Team manager Charith Senanayake said Mendis’ progress will be monitored, while coach Graham Ford feared it would be a big blow if Mendis fails to recover.
“With the way he bowled and the X-factor he brings, it would be a big blow,” said Ford. “In T20, cricket you want guys who can win matches on their own and he’s one of them.”
But Ford insisted Sri Lanka have bowlers to make up for Mendis’ absence. “We have a number of quality spinners, fortunately, so if Ajantha can’t play we have back up,” added Ford of the squad which also has Rangana Herath and uncapped Akila Dananjaya.
“Dananjaya’s certainly very close to playing. He was probably going to play against South Africa and then the game got reduced and there was the chance he would’ve been bowling with a wet ball,” said Ford of the 18-year-old, selected in the squad on the recommendations of skipper Mahela Jayawardene.
New Zealand, meanwhile, will be looking once again at Brendan McCullum to fire them like he did in his side’s opener. New Zealand captain Ross Taylor expects spin to play a part in the Super Eights as all matches will be double-headers.
“Spin has been very successful in this form of the game,” said Taylor. “With two games today, the pitch could deteriorate and take a bit of a turn. The main message is to be aggressive and not let them settle.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 27th, 2012.
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