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Three months to the day after he was discharged from a Colombo hospital, head swathed in bandages, Ajantha Mendis claimed 3 for 9 and Man-of-the-Match honours in the World Twenty20 Super Eights match against New Zealand. The wounds from the Lahore terror attack may have left physical scars, but they have done nothing to diminish his spin-bowling wizardry.
Mendis' story is the most remarkable of these World Twenty20 championships. After undergoing two rounds of surgery to remove shrapnel from his scalp and back in March - procedures that required 17 stitches - Mendis has returned to international cricket as if nothing has been amiss. The headaches he suffered in the weeks after the shootout have now been transferred to opposing batsmen, who have struggled to reconcile with his pace, flight and variations throughout the tournament. The nightmares of the Gadaffi Stadium are giving way to a dream-run in England.
Entering Friday's semi-final against West Indies at The Oval, Mendis has claimed an astonishing 10 wickets at 10 runs apiece in five World Twenty20 matches. His economy rate (5.55) is the best of all Sri Lankan bowlers, and his list of victims include luminaries such as Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ross Taylor. Coupled with Lasith Malinga and Muttiah Muralitharan, his deeds have gone far to maintaining Sri Lanka's perfect tournament record ahead of Friday's match.
But the question remains: just how has Mendis summoned the mental strength to not only contend with the physical and emotional trauma of the terror attack, but thrive on cricket's most demanding stage so soon after? In shy, almost inaudible tones, the diminutive spinner says that, to him, the three-month journey from Lahore to London is not especially noteworthy.
"It is nothing special," Mendis told Cricinfo. "I have got together with the team. Murali has been helping me along. It has been going along nicely with the team-mates."
Others have been more forthcoming with their praise for Mendis. Chris Gayle, whom he will face on Friday, believes his Kolkata Knight Riders team-mate could hold the key to Sri Lanka's hopes of claiming their first major tournament success since the 1996 World Cup.
"He came onto the scene with a bang and he's been brilliant ever since," Gayle told Cricinfo. "You saw him in the game against Australia - he's a bowler who can come in and break partnerships and take key wickets for his team. I batted against him in the nets (at the IPL) , and he's not the easiest bowler to hit out of the park. He's got so many deliveries. You have to back yourself and play according to the situation."
Mendis, for his part, does not appear rattled at the prospect of facing the tournament's most destructive batsman at The Oval. It was at this ground that Gayle blasted Brett Lee onto Harleyford Road and the Bedser Stand roof within the space of three deliveries a fortnight ago, thus beginning the West Indies' roller-coaster journey into the World Twenty20 semi-finals. Mendis, though, was not concerned with the past deeds of the West Indian skipper.
"I'm not interested in who I'm bowling to," Mendis said, when asked about Gayle. "I'm bowling my line and length and not concentrating on who is at the other end. I study the batsmen and the situation of the match and the wicket, and I adjust my bowling accordingly. I'm comfortable with what I'm bowling. No batsman has figured me out yet."
No one has doubted Mendis' ability to confound batsmen. Since making his international debut in Trinidad last year, the 24-year-old has excelled in all three formats with bustling pace, low trajectory and Johnny Gleeson-style flicks of the finger. But it was not until this tournament that the world witnessed the resolve and courage of Sri Lanka's most exciting spin-bowling prospect since a young Muttiah Muraliatharan burst onto the international scene 14 years ago. Win or lose on Friday, Mendis has earned the respect of all.
"The tournament has better than I expected," he said. "I have been doing well since the first game, and I hope to continue that."
Alex Brown is deputy editor of Cricinfo
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