Watch: Dunith Wellalage produced a ripping turner to knock Shubman Gill‘s off-stump. It was the first of his five wickets against India in the Super Fours clash in Colombo on September 12.
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Choosing to bat after winning the toss, India got off to another flier for the second match in a row. This time, captain Rohit Sharma led the charge.
At the end of 11 overs, India had reached 80-0, out of which 47 had come off the bat of Rohit off just 42 balls. En route, he had also become the second-quickest to 10,000 ODI runs. Gill, who had given India the early momentum against Pakistan, struggled his way through to 19 off 24.
Wellalage came into the attack in the 12th over and produced an absolute peach early. A flighted ball from round the wicket landed on middle stump, inducing a drive from Gill, only to rip sharply past his outside edge and take down his off-stump.
Even R Ashwin was unable to hold back from praising the quality of the delivery and the dismissal: “That ball from Wellalage to Gill is a dream ball for any spinner.”
That ball from Wellalage to Gill is a dream ball for any spinner, but most importantly a big endorsement to the triple spin threat.#AsiaCup2023 #INDvsSL
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) September 12, 2023
Wellalage went on to take a rich haul of five wickets that included five of the Indian top six – Gill, Rohit, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Hardik Pandya. He finished with 5-40 as India were bowled out for 213.
He wasn’t done for the day either. After a maiden ODI five-for, he went on to score an unbeaten 42 that nearly took Sri Lanka over the line. He was awarded the Player of the Match for his all-round efforts.
