Kamindu Mendis bowls finger spin with both right and left hands, switching as per the batter.
Sri Lanka spinner Kamindu Mendis left cricket fans amazed with his special ability to bowl spin with both hands. Sri Lanka lost the first T20I to India by 43 runs at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on Saturday.
India was asked to bat first and posted 213/7 with Suryakumar Yadav making 58 and Rishabh Pant slamming 49 runs. For Sri Lanka, Matheesha Pathirana took four wickets.
Despite a brilliant start by Pathum Nissanka (79) and Kusal Mendis (45), who added 84 runs for the opening wicket, Sri Lanka crumbled to 170 from 140/1 at one stage and lost by 43 runs. Riyan Parag took three wickets, while Arshdeep Singh and Akshar Patel took 2 scalps each.
The match's highlight was Sri Lanka's Kamindu Mendis' unusual showing of ambidextrous bowling. The spinner drew the crowd's attention by switching bowling arms during the same over, a rare occurrence in international cricket.
Mendis bowled left-handed against Suryakumar Yadav but switched to right-handed against Rishabh Pant. Mendis bowled only one over in the match, conceding nine runs. He bowled the 10th over of the Indian innings and was hit for a four by Suryakumar on the first ball of the over.
This impressive skill set prompted curiosity and admiration from fans, as well as questions about the regulations governing such unique abilities.
Fans rushed to social media to share their surprise and admiration at Mendis' ambidextrous abilities. His ability to bowl with both hands adds an intriguing facet to the game and demonstrates the increasing skills of current bowlers.
Here are some reactions: