Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana will attempt to bamboozle Australia at the T20 World Cup 2021 on Thursday with coach Mickey Arthur backing the 21-year-old to “pose some questions”.
Highlights
- Theekshana claimed 8 wickets in 3 qualifying matches of T20 WC 2021
- Sri Lanka will face Australia in their 2nd Super 12 game of T20 WC 2021
- “He’s a quality bowler, he’s a mystery bowler”: Mickey Arthur
Sri Lankan mystery spinner Mahesh Shikshana tries to confuse Australia at the 2021 T20 World Cup on Thursday. Director Mickey Arthur helps a 21-year-old child “pose some questions.”
Theekshana won eight wickets in three qualifying matches last week when 2014 champion Sri Lanka moved to the Super 12 stage.
However, in a match in which his team abandoned 171 runs, a back injury excluded him from a five-ticket win over Bangladesh on the weekend.
For golf’s low and slow wickets, spinners are important, especially if you’re armed with a bag full of tricks.
“Maheesh a quality bowler, he’s a mystery bowler. He’s still young. He’s still making his way in the game,” said Arthur of Theekshana who only made his international debut in September.
“If you haven’t seen Maheesh, he certainly poses some questions.”
“He has a couple of different balls that do make you quite hesitant if you can’t pick them. So it will be an interesting contest tomorrow.”
Theekshana goes beyond traditional off-spin bowls.
He mastered the Googly and Carom balls. This is an aerodynamically challenging throwing movement created by pulling the ball between the thumb and the bent middle finger.
Meanwhile, Arthur continues his personally impressive streak in the United Arab Emirates after three years of coaching in Pakistan, where Asian giants have been demoted to the Gulf due to domestic security conditions.
He has won 15 straight T20s, and when he turns 16 on Thursday, he’s been leading Australia from 2010 to 2013 when he was fired, which is especially appealing.
“We do know the wickets and with Pakistan, we also had a set format that we played to, a set brand,” said the 53-year-old South African.
“And we’ve sort of tried to replicate that just a little bit with the Sri Lankan boys. So that’s certainly helping.
“Conditions aren’t overly different to what we experience in Sri Lanka. So that’s helped our guys as well. And let’s just hope that 15 becomes 16 tomorrow.”
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