Ajantha caves in to India's might

COLOMBO: Traditionally better players of spin, the Indians were bamboozled by a Sri Lankan armyman last year. For a newcomer on the international circuit, he packed too many tricks ��� googlies, flippers, leg-break, and the 'carrom ball'.
Ajantha Mendis became the toast of the cricketing world. He spun his way to become the fastest to reach 50 wickets in just 19 ODIs.The ICC Emerging Player of the Year (2008) award was another feather in the 23-year-old's cap. But all that seems to be history now.
Mendis is now battling an identity crisis. The Indians have got back at him with a vengeance. So much that the second lieutenant was 'rested' on Thursday from the playing eleven for the first time in six months.
"The magic will last only for three-four series," remarked Muthiah Muralitharan, who too has been finding the going tough in the ongoing series with only three wickets in four matches. "He has to learn," said the Lankan spin legend in a casual discussion involving a few Indian players and scribes on Wednesday.
If the Indian team video analyst K Dhananjay is to be believed, the Pakistanis ��� during the ODI series last month ��� were the first to unlock the M-mystery. "They played him as a medium pacer," he says. Interestingly, of the four wickets he picked during the three-match series in Pakistan, three were of tailenders.
Dhananjay feels Mendis has also put on weight since he played against India last. There is another tale circulating here: of the bowler having lost his sting because he was asked to remove the tape from his fingers by the umpires during the second ODI. The Indian batsmen, apparently, were able to read him more clearly after that.
The stories have begun. Mendis may have to deal with all that and more before he reclaims his stature. "He is just 23. Let him learn," said Jayawardene.