Sri Lanka’s new bowling discovery Ajantha Mendis said yesterday that playing against India in today’s Asia Cup cricket final was no big deal and would not put himself under undue pressure in the championship’s deciding game here in Karachi.

Mendis is the leading wicket-taker with 11 scalps and will be confronting one of the best teams of spin bowling in what analysts say will be his truest test of character.

Well done mate! …. The rest of the bunch tells Ajantha Mendis during the game against Pakistan, but, his real Test will be against India this afternoon.

“I will not be thinking too much just because it is India. It will be quite normal for me. Just another game even if it means playing against the best team”, said Mendis after a three-hour work out at a practice session.

Even if he does not pick up wickets in today’s final, Mendis will be taking home a bagful of knowledge gained in the championship to add to what he picked up from his school days at Moratu Vidyalaya. “I learnt a lot of things on this tour especially in the match against Pakistan which has a very strong line-up”, he said.

Through-out the championship Mendis came in for close scrutiny for a variety of balls but the slow bowler claims there is nothing extra-ordinary about his trade which the Indians will gauge for the first time in their careers.

“I don’t think I have anything special. You can call me an off-cutter bowler”, said Mendis who added that playing for the army in the domestic tournament made him what he is today. Sri Lanka has never won the Asia Cup overseas and has the best chance of winning the prize today with the return of Chaminda Vaas and Mendis into the side.

But skipper Mahela Jayawardena contends that what the team acquired in the run-up games will be of little use in the decider. “This is altogether a new match. What we have done in the previous games will have no bearing. It is what we do in this game (final) that will decide the outcome”, said Jayawardena.

Sri Lanka is likely to stick to a combination of six batsmen and five bowlers and would prefer to take first lease of the pitch which looked bone dry and expected to take spin during the latter part of the contest.
Sri Lanka: (Likely team): Mahela Jayawardena (captian), Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Kapugedera, Chamara Silva, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Chaminda Vaas, Thilina Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekera, Muttiah Muralitheran Ajantha Mendis.

India: Mahendra Dhoni (captain), Virendra Sehwag, Gautam Ghambir, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, R.P. Singh, Pragyan Ojha or Piyush Chawla