OTD| Former Sri Lankan mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis was born in 1985

Former Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis has turned 39 today. When Mendis burst onto the scene, he was almost an unplayable bowler. Batters across the globe were shocked as to what this mystery spinner from Sri Lanka was doing. It took a long time for them to get accustomed to the threat that Ajantha Mendis posed. 

He made his debut in all three formats of the game in a very short span. 2008 proved to be a rewarding year for the spinner as he was called up for the first time for the Sri Lankan team. He made his international debut in an ODI match in Port of Spain, against West Indies in April 2008. 

A couple of months later he also received his Test cap. Mendis played his maiden Test match against India at Colombo. It did not take too long for the crafty spinner to break into the T20I team. In the latter part of 2008, he represented Sri Lanka in T20I cricket for the first time. 

Mysterious Mendis

Ajantha Mendis took international cricket by storm in the early stages of his international career. His trajectory and the point of delivery was something that not many batters could comprehend which caused a lot of trouble. The Sri Lankan played 19 Tests, 87 ODIs, and 39 T20Is for his country. 

In white ball cricket, he had a phenomenal record. Mendis picked up 152 wickets in ODI cricket at an unbelievable average of 21.86. Whereas, in T20I cricket he had 66 wickets to his name at an average of 14.42. However, the longest format of the game proved to be a tough pursuit for the Sri Lankan spinner. 

In 19 Test matches, he registered 70 wickets at an average of 34.77. Gradually, his mystery fizzled out as he progressed in his career. Ajantha Mendis played his last international match in 2015 against New Zealand at Christchurch.