In an instance, Laxman’s languid strokeplay was forgotten as he was made to look ugly. After beating Laxman repeatedly outside the off-stump with the away-going ball, Mendis bowled a loopy googly. As the ball sailed between the bat and pad of the confident-looking batsman, there was a new debate about the ‘ball of the match.’ The house was divided over which one was better: the leg-spinner that did Rahul Dravid in on Friday or the one that castled Laxman.

Within an hour, Mendis proved that he was no one-trick pony nor was Laxman’s dismissal a flash in the pan. He hit the batsman on his back pad with a ball that skidded to the leg stump after pitching on the middle. Laxman’s dismissal in the second innings proved that getting used to the unconventional would be tough. With the ball having a mind of its own after pitching, it remains to be seen how the visitors will be dealing with this situation.

Playing forward was one prescription the experts had floated. Rahul Dravid, after losing the stump playing late in the first innings, did move his left-foot forward but even then, he was foxed by Mendis — the ball took the edge and ballooned to the close-in fielder.

The sweep shot is one ploy that the batsmen use against the spinners. Sourav Ganguly in the first innings and Sachin Tendulkar in the second were out playing the shot against Murali. Ganguly got an upper edge and was caught at deep square leg on Friday, while Tendulkar playing the paddle edged to leg-slip on Saturday. The more radical view to negotiate spin is to hit the bowler out of the attack and Gautam Gambhir belongs to that school of thought. But when the southpaw was beaten in the flight by Murali and was stumped, even that trick had failed.

... contd.