[http://planetnz.com/palmheads/myhacks.php?pg=bent_finger] "...Eventually I see the Iverson method being best employed by an orthodox off-spinner. He took 2 wickets in the first ODI at R Premadasa Stadium and with these two wickets, he reached 150 ODI wickets, becoming the 8th Sri Lankan to reach that milestone. Mendis, although classified as slow-medium, bowls a mixture of deliveries, including googlies, off-breaks top-spinners, flippers and leg-breaks, as well as a Carrom Ball, released with a flick of his middle finger. "Ajantha Mendis, playing his eighth ODI, picked up the first six-wicket haul in the Asia Cup final against India in July 2008. Local TV commentators predicted him as the ideal replacement for senior spinner Muttiah Muralitharan in time to come and nicknamed him as "Mysterious Bowler". He went on to claim the wickets of Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan & VVS Laxman to finish with figures of 4 for 72 in his maiden test bowling performance. He has had his basic education at St Anthony's College at Kadalana in his village where there were no facilities at all for sports. He also plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League. He followed this up with 4 for 60 in India's second innings. He broke the record by snatching 50 wickets in just 19 matches. Ajantha Mendis won the Emerging Player of the Year award at the LG ICC Awards ceremony held in Dubai in September 2008. Mendis played for Lahore Qalandars in Pakistan Super League held at U.A.E in February 2016. Mendis in his very first test match bowled 275 balls, conceded 132 runs and captured 8 wickets. [2] On 26 October 2012 Ajantha Mendis received the Sri Lankan order of Bantu, the highest civilian honour in Sri Lanka. That ball is reminiscent of the former Australia spinner Johnny Gleeson, who had a similar delivery. His best bowling performance in a one-day international came in the final of the 2008 Asia Cup, where he took 6 wickets for 13 runs in just his eighth match. In the just concluded domestic season in Premier League Tournament, he has become the Most Successful Bowler by taking 68 wickets in nine matches which is also a record in any form of domestic cricket. In that tournament he performed exceptionally well with the ball. He also plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.His first Test Match was against India at Colombo on July 23, 2008 in which he returned match figures of 8-132, thereby becoming the first Sri Lankan bowler to get an eight-wicket haul on Test debut.Ajantha Mendis won the Emerging Player of the Year award at the LG ICC Awards ceremony held in Dubai in September 2008.Early years and personal lifeBorn on March 11, 1985, Mendis hails from a hamlet in Moratuwa. Following this he was invited to enlist in the regular force of the Sri Lanka Army, this was particularly due to the low number of cricketers from Colombo schools joining the Army in the recent years. Ajantha Mendis reintroduced mystery to spin in the era of video analysts and super-slow-motion replays. With 26 wickets (ave.18.38) in the series, Mendis has passed Alec Bedser's world record for most wickets by a bowler on his debut in a three-Test series. Ajantha Mendis, playing his eighth ODI, picked up the first six-wicket haul in the Asia Cup final against India in July 2008. He claimed his first Test wicket in his fifth over, bowling Rahul Dravid with a delivery now christened the carrom ball, that turned from middle and hit off stump. Ajantha Mendis has bowled well. Ajantha Mendis blowing Australian batting away. On 6 August 2010 during the series against India, Mendis scored his highest Test score of 78. [26] The following year, on 18 September 2012 in the opening match of the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 against Zimbabwe, Mendis bettered this record by taking six wickets for eight runs. P.S. Instead of a basic Iverson attack with occasional orthodox off-spin, there is a great future for an accurate off-spinner who produces a difficult to detect leg spinner every now and then. http://www.nation.lk/2008/08/17/sports3.htm12. [http://planetnz.com/palmheads/myhacks.php?pg=bent_finger], Ajantha Mendis made his One Day International debut against West Indies in at the Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, on 10 April, 2008. In the batting, Sri Lanka was in good position to win the game, but with the magical bowling by Sunil Narine, Sri Lanka lost 9 wickets with 21 more runs to win the game. On 10 September 2008, Ajantha Mendis has won the "Emerging Player of the Year" award at the ICC Awards ceremony in Dubai. His first Test Match was against India at Colombo on July 23, 2008 in which he returned match figures of 8-132, thereby becoming the first Sri Lankan bowler to get an eight-wicket haul on Test debut. He enlisted, partly due to the reason that his father, the bread-winner for the family had passed away the week before due to a heart attack [ [http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080613_04 Soldier creating history in International cricket] ] .Military careerFollowing basic training he played for the army team and saw active military service as a Gunner in the Sri Lanka Artillery [ [http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20080613_04 Soldier creating history in International cricket] ] , a regiment of the Sri Lanka Army. Rare cricket video. He is the future of Sri Lankan cricket,". This gained him a call-up to the full Sri Lanka squad for the Caribbean tour in April 2008. This gained him a call-up to the full Sri Lanka squad for the Caribbean tour in April 2008. He is the future of Sri Lankan cricket". Mendis, although classified as slow-medium, bowls a mixture of deliveries, including googlies, off-breaks, top-spinners, flippers and leg-breaks, as well as the carrom ball, released with a flick of his middle finger. With a smile on his face as he caresses the ball before delivering it, he bowls the offbreak, he bowls the legbreak, he bowls the googly, he bowls the flipper, he bowls a straight delivery, he bowls them with different grips and different actions, he bowls them with a different trajectory and at a different pace, and he disguises them brilliantly. Balapuwaduge Ajantha Winslow Mendis is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer who played for the Sri Lankan Cricket team in all three formats. For Sri Lanka Army in 2007-08 he averaged a mere 10.56 and took 46 wickets in six games, his strike rate a startling 31. All this was developed during 2006/2007 domestic seasons on his own. 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