Colombo, Aug. 6: Two years ago, Ajantha Mendis was the scourge on India’s visit to the Emerald Isle, claiming 26 wickets to fashion a 2-1 series win.
On Friday, he swapped ball for bat at the P. Sara Oval, hitting a career-high 78 in 157 balls to once again frustrate the Indians. Clearly pleased with his effort, Mendis said he was finally getting time to concentrate on his batting at nets, which had paid off. Excerpts:
On his batting: When I got into the national side, I was unable to concentrate on my batting because of the time I had to dedicate to my bowling. It is only of late that I realised I had to improve my batting and gave it more time.
On the stand with Samaraweera: When I went into bat it was a difficult situation and that made me more determined to do well for the team and support Thilan. Luckily it was not difficult to concentrate as the wicket played easy.
On thoughts of a possible target: It was not easy to think on those lines but once we started getting a few runs we thought a target in the region of 150 would give us some chance. But since I progressed well we thought anything was possible.
On Lanka losing early wickets: That is usual here and it was no different on the first three days. My only idea was to accumulate runs and add to the target.
On the possible result: The wicket will start having variable bounce and it will cause a few problems for batsmen. If we can pick up two or three early wickets in the morning we can finish the match by mid-afternoon.