Due to his limited career, Ajantha Mendis will likely rank somewhere in the middle of the list of the more well-known bowlers to come out of Sri Lanka. The variants Mendis popularized during the time when Muttiah Muralitharan was primarily focused on turning the ball square, with the carrom ball being the best of them, are what made him synonymous with the wacky things in spin bowling.
Immediately after Sunil Narine and R Ashwin gained notoriety, the practice of off-spinners continuously bowling the arm-ball and the googly became popular. During this time, Chennai Super Kings consistently supported local talent Ashwin while also selecting Muralitharan in the latter stages of his career. Maheesh Theekshana of Sri Lanka appears to be a natural progression from this strategy.
With the addition of his fellow countryman Matheesha Pathirana, CSK may have discovered a potent combination that can only get better. Theekshana and Pathirana’s bowling often carries an air of mystery. Pathirana, known as “Podi” (small) Malinga in Sri Lanka, throws the ball with a Lasith Malinga-like sling, frequently leaving batters to pick the ball up against the umpire’s shirt.
On a pitch where the ball likes to stop and come, Theekshana relies more on bounce and pace than getting spin, which makes it challenging for batters. Sunrisers Hyderabad lost momentum when CSK captain MS Dhoni forced them to wait until the final overs. Pathirana and Theekshana bowled six of CSK’s final eight overs, allowing just 33 runs and picking up three wickets.
Success for Theekshana wasn’t a surprise. Glen Maxwell was getting down on one leg to swat spinners out of the ground on the featherbed-like track at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium when Theekshana tricked him with a carrom ball. On Friday, SRH batters had to continually shuffle to find the appropriate arc against him because no two of his deliveries were the same. Out of the 18 balls Theekshana bowled in his second delivery, just one was hit for a boundary, hence they largely failed.
He is incredibly talented. He always approaches a player because of his subtle skills, according to CSK coach Stephen Fleming, who previously worked with Theekshana for Johannesburg Super Kings in the SA20.
“As a hitter, you can’t really get into a rhythm, and his pace adjustments are his ruse. And I believe that occasionally makes them check themselves. Even today, he had a little bit more bounce and was a little bit faster.
But, 22-year-old Theekshana is still attempting to find his rhythm. “He has been bowling effectively, but in his first few games, he experimented with different pitches to find his pace. More significantly, they were attempting to get us to pace on the field, which we really wanted to possess and control.” He has so far participated in three matches and has improved each time ((0/42, 1/41, 1/27).
Pathirana’s IPL debut was not particularly noteworthy as he was carted off for 42 runs at Chinnaswamy on a day when no CSK bowler was left standing. Nevertheless, the 20-year-old finally found his footing on a two-paced Chepauk pitch, nailing wide yorkers, dipping full tosses, and slow bouncers while keeping the batters guessing with his unorthodox movement. Heinrich Klaasen’s expulsion, which occurred after he swung forcefully at a length ball that was just a hair wider than normal, served as a reminder that he is not only about variations but also occasionally about subtle adaptations. Klaasen simply wasn’t able to put enough bat on the ball and was forced to hit across the line.
In reference to Pathirana, Dhoni later remarked, “You need time to choose his action.” He is versatile and moves at a fast speed. It’s challenging to score off Malinga, who has an uncomfortable action and is quite consistent with line and length, as we have seen. He has undoubtedly been a find.
This couple can’t be counted on to save CSK every time. This IPL, Chennai’s bowling has been a work in progress, beginning with Deepak Chahar, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, and Mitchell Santner in the opening game before experimenting with Ben Stokes, Sisanda Magala, Akash Singh, and Moeen Ali in various combinations. They have already played six games and used up 12 bowlers. CSK must strike a balance between Tushar Desphande’s over 11 average and Ravindra Jadeja’s 6.76 average in order for Jadeja to concentrate completely on the middle overs.
Pathirana and Theekshana may represent the path to that stability, as evidenced by Friday’s match.
