Left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage’s remarkable performance sent shockwaves through the Indian cricket team during their Asia Cup Super Four match against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
The match started with Rohit Sharma (53) and Shubman Gill (19) forming a strong opening partnership that added 80 runs to the scoreboard. However, Wellalage quickly changed the course of the game by dismissing Gill. He also managed to send back the Indian captain, Virat Kohli, for just three runs.
The most crucial moment came when Wellalage bowled Rohit Sharma with a delivery that kept unusually low, resulting in India struggling at 91/3 in the 15th over. Despite the setback, India was at 128/3 in 25 overs, with Ishan Kishan and K L Rahul both batting on 18.
Rohit Sharma’s innings also marked a significant milestone, as he became the sixth Indian cricketer to reach the remarkable 10,000-run mark during the course of his knock.
Earlier in the day, Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bat. Both India and Sri Lanka had two points each from one game, setting the stage for an intense battle. Unfortunately for India, Shreyas Iyer had been ruled out for the second successive game. The team made one change, with Axar Patel replacing Shardul Thakur.
The lineups for the match were as follows:
India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, K L Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (capt), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana.
Wellalage’s exceptional performance undoubtedly had a significant impact on the game and kept the contest unpredictable until the very end.
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