Bowlers to win 'Man of the Series' awards in their debut Test series

#2 Ajantha Mendis - India tour of Sri Lanka, Jul/Aug 2008

Mendis tormented India in his debut series

A mystery spinner, Ajantha Mendis made a stunning ODI series debut. His Test debut was even more dramatic. Playing against the Indians in July/Aug 2008, in his first Test series, Mendis took 26 wickets in 3 Tests at an average of 18.38.

In his first Test at Colombo (SSC), Mendis took 4 wickets apiece in each innings as he finished with match figures of 8/132. He continued to trouble the Indian batsmen, who were struggling to read his umpteen variations, in Galle as he picked up 6/117 in the first innings and 4/92 in the second. By the time the third Test had started in Colombo (PSS), Mendis was the most talked about Sri Lankan spinner.

He once again resorted to his bag of tricks and ran through the Indian line-up with a five-wicket haul in the first innings. He added three more in the second to finish with match figures of 8/137. He had 2 five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul to show for his efforts at the end of the series.