Dunith Wellalage, all of 21, produced an exemplary all-round performance on a tough pitch at Khettarama. Batting at No. 7, he played Sri Lanka’s best innings, hitting 67 not out off 65, in a total of 230 for 8 in the first ODI.
When defending, the left-arm spinner took 2 for 39 off nine overs, taking the crucial wicket of Rohit Sharma, who was India’s best batter on the evening, and Sri Lanka went on to tie the game.
On the batting front, Wellalage had started watchfully after coming in at 101 for 5 in the 27th over, but on a surface on which no one truly looked set, he seemed the most comfortable batter across both teams, even striking powerful boundaries at the close. For this innings, he took inspiration from a Sri Lanka team-mate, he said.
Pathum Nissanka, who hit another fifty on Friday, has been the hosts’ best batter of the tour so far, having also made runs in the T20Is.
“They have a lot of experienced bowlers, so the more we can limit our mistakes, the more we can put pressure on them,” Wellalage said of his thinking during his innings. “I was watching Pathum Nissanka bat quite a lot. I put his batting in my mind as I came up with a plan. If you take the pitch, it was one that supported spin bowling. I tried to put as much pressure on the bowler and build partnerships.”
With the ball, he perhaps struck the most important blow of the night. Rohit was threatening to make easy work of the target when he galloped to his fifty off 33 balls. But in the 15th over, Wellalage beat him in flight, and struck Rohit in front of the stumps as he attempted a sweep shot, cutting that innings short for 58 off 47.
“I was watching Pathum Nissanka bat quite a lot. I put his batting in my mind as I came up with a plan.”
Dunith Wellalage
This is after he’d also dismissed Shubman Gill, again with a nicely flighted delivery that Gill top edged high enough for the keeper to track it down. Wellalage had been the first spinner to be introduced, inside the powerplay.
“We knew that the wicket was spinning. So Charith Asalanka had told me that I would be bowling in the powerplay. I had good support from the wicket too.
“With Rohit at the time, I was trying just to bowl wicket-to-wicket, because I knew how much assistance there was from the pitch.”
The middle to late overs, were all Wanindu Hasaranga and Asalanka, said Wellalage. Those two bowlers took three wickets apiece, with Asalanka providing the final touches, taking two wickets in the 48th over when India had already tied the game. Having Axar Patel caught behind was his other wicket.
Earlier, Hasaranga had removed Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Kuldeep Yadav.
“When we bowled, the game changed with the wickets that Wanindu aiya and Charith aiya took. They took wickets at very difficult times, and that’s how we were able to at least keep it to this score. If you take Axar Patel and KL Rahul, these are batters who have finished a lot of matches.
“At that time we needed to get the bowlers in, and when Charith aiya got Axar out and Wanindu aiya got KL Rahul out. It was important to stay calm at that stage, and the match turned our way.”
Andrew Fidel Fernando is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelf
