Cricket

Sehwag toughest Indian batsman: Mendis

Sri Lankan mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis says that swashbuckling right-hander Virender Sehwag was the only Indian batsman he found difficult to bowl to in the recently-concluded India’s tour of Sri Lanka.

“There was not much of a difference in bowling to most of the Indian batsmen. Their style was similar. But Virender Sehwag was the toughest to bowl to without doubt,” Mendis, who picked up Indian wickets in heaps in both the Test and ODI series, said.

The Lankans won the Test series 2-1 but lost the ODI series 2-3 but Mendis said he found no difference in the batting style of the two Indian sides. He said the only reason why he failed to replicate his stupendous Test form in ODIs was the lesser number of overs he bowled in the shorter version of the game.

“There wasn’t really much of a difference between the two sides. It was more or less the same for me. My problem in one-dayers was that there were only 10 overs to bowl and it is very difficult to take wickets in that limited time,” he said.

Mendis he has grown in confidence after the series against India during which he got prized scalps of likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

“I feel very happy to be bowling to the best batsmen in the world. After bowling to Tendulkar, (Sourav) Ganguly, Dravid, (VVS) Laxman and (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni how can I not be confident? If I can take their wicket, then I can take anyone’s wicket in the world,” he said.

Tags: ajantha mendis, Idea Cup 2008, India, India Sri Lanka ODI Series, sri lanka, virender sehwag