Sri Lankan spin sensation Ajantha Mendis may have wrecked havoc in the
Asia Cup final but Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni refuses to
consider him a major threat in the upcoming Test series, saying the experienced
players in the Indian Test line-up will sort him out.
Mendis picked up six wickets in the Asia Cup final last night to single-handedly
destroy the Indian batting, which failed to cope with the guiles of the unorthodox
spinner.
Dhoni said Mendis proved a tough customer because the Indians were playing
him for the first time and insisted that his batsmen will unravel his mystery
once they start playing him more often.
"He (Mendis) is a difficult bowler and if you see one of the good things
is we will be playing Test matches first in Sri Lanka. So the burden
of scoring off him will not be there and the players can take their time and
get used to him," Dhoni said when asked if Mendis could pose problems in
the coming series.
"He is a difficult bowler and the batsmen must prepare themselves. We
have experienced players in the Test side and they will get a chance to see
a few more video recordings and preview of him," he added.
But Dhoni conceded that to pick Mendis' line, it is important to spend some
time in the middle against him.
"...Frankly speaking unless you don't play against him in the middle it
is difficult to pick him up," Dhoni said.
The Indian captain also shed some light on why Mendis proved to be so destructive.
"We play Kumble (Anil) more often it is the fast delivery that tends to
come in that is lethal. But if you are playing Mendis most of the time when
he flights the ball it is a googly or off spinner," he explained.
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