I ask that of all my prey

When the Indo-Sri Lanka series began I had expected Ajantha Mendis's influence to diminish as the series progressed. At the end of the series and a resounding 26 wickets later, Mendis put paid to my prediction.

While his strike-rate (wickets per ball) diminished, his influence on the psyche of the Indian batsmen stayed put. Every batsman, bar Ganguly, had periods of time where it appeared they had sorted him out, but except for Sehwag none of them sustained it throughout their innings. Gambhir played him the best, followed by Sehwag, Tendulkar and Laxman. Dravid was completely clueless in the first two Tests, finally seeming to come to terms with the spinner in the last Test before succumbing (for the 4th time) to the carrom ball. Laxman got set in every innings of the series but got out everytime bar the final innings (5 times in all) to the carrom ball.

Here is how the Indian batsmen fared against Mendis (culled from a statistical analysis of the series on CricInfo).

Interestingly, the openers - Gambhir and Sehwag - (along with Laxman) were the ones who did best against him, and they were part of the ODI squad that collapsed in the finals of the Asia Cup!!

As a comparison, here is how Muralitharan was negotiated by the Indians. Laxman played him the best in the entire series and it is reflected in the stats.
Mendis showed that he has the tools to be a major force for years to come. His captain appears to know how to use him and, hopefully, he is able to keep the spinner's skills from diminishing. The presence of Murali as a mentor will, no doubt, help. When Sri Lanka next challenge Australia, it will be a true test of wills. Having observed Mendis closely, I expect him to do well against them, too.

Test cricket has found a new bowler to peg its hat on and it is splendid for the game. May he have a very successful career. I know I will be watching closely. Michel Aterton, former England skipper and a fast-rising columnist, certainly has his eye on him.

P.S. The flip side of the coin - India's middle order - appears more fragile than it ever has. The writing is on the wall. Unfortunately, the wrong persons are going to read it and exit the scene. When Australia comes around for a 4 Test series in September, it may even be a blessing that their premier bowlers are fast bowlers.