He bewildered batsmen with his each-way turn and West Indies all-rounder Darren Sammy will probably never forget the doosra that turned him inside-out and clipped his off-stump in the first game.
Mendis bowls a combination of leg breaks, off breaks, googlies and top-spinners, and has befuddled batsmen with this variety. Though classified as an off-spinner on the West Indies tour, his stock delivery is yet to be determined.
He was a prolific wicket-taker for the Sri Lanka Army in the 2007-08 season and took 46 wickets at an average of 10.56 with a strike-rate of 31 from six matches. Overall, he has played 19 first-class matches and captured 111 wickets at 14.54.
Here is what some observers had to say about Mendis.
*Tony Becca in the Jamaica Gleaner:
"Mendis bowls everything. With a smile on his face as he caresses the ball before delivering it, he bowls the off break, he bowls the leg break, he bowls the googly, he bowls the flipper, he bowls a straight delivery.
*Dwayne Bravo recalls his first sighting: "[Ramnaresh] Sarwan had problems picking him, and from the time we saw this, most of the batsmen retreated to the dressing room and had a close look at his hand on the TV monitor."
*Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss is mystified: "I could tell you about his variations if I knew what they were."
*Jerome Jayaratne, Sri Lanka Cricket Academy coach: "Mendis is unusual, freaky, and has developed a ball which could be described as a "flicker", which he releases with a snap of his fingers, which is very unusual compared to other orthodox spin bowlers."
*Rob Steen thinks he is a keeper: "I have just seen the future of spin bowling – and his name is Ajantha Mendis."
*Mark Rivlin summons up a pun in praise on Sportingo.com: "The 23-year-old, we were told, plays his cricket for the Sri Lankan
*Mahela Jayawardene isn't as surprised as the rest of the world:
"Mendis is something special and for a while I've been telling some of the guys to look out for him." (Cricinfo/WG)