Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis is happy get back his form after his 4-84 pegged back Bangladesh on the third day of the second Test in Chittagong on Thursday.
Mendis got the chance to play the Test by a stroke of luck as Sri Lanka’s spin spearhead Rangana Herath returned home following a recurrence of a knee injury.
He made the opportunity count by dismissing Bangladesh’s two centurions, Shamsur Rahman and Imrul Kayes, before taking two wickets in two balls in the last hour of play that gave Sri Lanka some advantage in an otherwise even contest.
He nearly got his hat-trick as the off-spinner made a loud appeal against Al Amin Hossain after removing Nasir Hossain and Sohag Gazi off successive deliveries, but
Australian umpire Paul Reiffel did not respond to it.
‘I am really happy because I am playing after a year and I was really happy today,’ said Mendis, who was playing his first Test match in more than a year.
Mendis had a sensational start to his career as he took 26 wickets in three Tests against India in 2008, but his form dipped later and was subsequently dropped from the national side.
He last played a Test match against Bangladesh at Galle last year when he become only one of two cricketers in the history of five-day cricket to concede more than 150 runs against Bangladesh in a Test innings.
He was never considered for selection again after giving away 152 runs from 36 overs at an economy rate of 4.22 before Herath’s injury opened the door for him.
‘Actually, my back was a bit down due to injury [and] it took me time to recover. Now everything is okay,’ said Mendis.
Mendis saw several catches dropped off his bowling that denied him registering a better bowling figure. He, however, accepted it as his destiny and forgave the fielders.
‘I left it as I can’t help it,’ said Mendis. ‘May be the guys were a little tired today. Nothing much I can do, because everyone can’t hold onto catches all the time. It happens.’
-With New Age input
