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The Indian top order is known to struggle against left-arm pacers. Whether it is Trent Boult, Shaheen Afridi, Mitchell Starc, or any other left-arm pacer, the ball coming into right-handed batters has caused problems. After a massive win over Pakistan on the reserve day where Afridi looked like an ordinary bowler, it seemed that things were starting to look better. But then, 20-year-old Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage took them by surprise. The former Under-19 World Cup captain attacked the stumps with subtle variations to outsmart India’s top three to stage co-hosts Sri Lanka’s comeback at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.
After winning the toss, Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first. Rohit got India off to a good start. In the seventh over, he completed 10,000 ODI runs. The Sri Lankan pacers did not pose a threat. The captain introduced himself as well but was taken to the cleaners by Rohit. Matheesha Pathirana looked off-colour too as India reached 80/0 after 11 overs.
Then Wellalage was brought back into the attack. The youngster made an impact straight away. He produced a jaffa of delivery by drawing Gill forward and beating the bat to hit the top of the off-stump. The perfect dismissal infused life into the home crowd. There wasn’t much Gill did wrong but it was more about Wellalage bowling the perfect delivery to get the breakthrough.
Virat Kohli was cautious against the left-arm spinner. The only couple of runs he scored against him were towards the mid-wicket region. The rest were dot balls. In his next over, Wellalage bowled four dot balls in a row. He did not bowl the perfect delivery to get Kohli's wicket but it was more about the pressure he created with dot balls that led to an uncontrolled flick off the former's bat. He just shortened the length a bit and the ball went straight to short mid-wicket fielder Shanaka.
Kohli's dismissal against an orthodox left-arm spinner is also a reason for worry. Since 2021, he has been dismissed eight times by left-arm spinners in ODIs. He also struggles to score quickly against them. He has scored 104 runs from 159 balls at a strike rate of 65.4.
The Indian team management made a small change in the batting order by sending left-handed batter Ishan Kishan to counter the spinner. But it was the in-form Rohit who became his next victim. Wellalage got the better of the Indian opener with a stroke of luck. The arm ball kept low and Rohit could not move his feet or get his bat down in time to prevent it from crashing into the stumps. He departed after scoring a half-century.
Wellalage had changed the game in just 13 balls where he conceded two runs, took three wickets, and bowled a wicket-maiden. From 80/0, India were reduced to 91/3 in the 16th over. Later, he came back into the attack and got the wicket of in-form KL Rahul as well.
Wicketless on India tour
While Wellalage was in fine form in home conditions, he could not do much with the ball when Sri Lanka toured India in January 2023. He remained wicketless in the ODI series.
The historic performance
In the Under-19 World Cup 2022, Wellalage created history when he took five wickets for 28 runs against Australia. This was Sri Lanka's first win over Australia in Under-19 World Cup history. He also scored a half-century in the match and was adjudged ‘Player of the match’.
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