Jeffrey Vandersay spun Sri Lanka to victory over India with figures of 6-33 in the second ODI between the sides on Sunday (August 4).

In the second ODI between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo, leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay took figures of 6-33 for the hosts, securing a handsome win to give them the lead in the three-match series.

Ahead of the second match of the series, Sri Lanka were hit by the news that star all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga would not be able to play, thanks to a hamstring injury sustained in the first game. A line at the end of Sri Lanka Cricket's statement simply read, "Jeffrey Vandersay comes into the squad in place of Hasaranga".

Jeffrey Vandersay is 34 years old. He made his international debut in 2015, and had played 36 total white-ball internationals in the nine years since. When India rocked up in Colombo for this game, Vandersay was quite possibly not even in their top five of opposition players to watch out for.

But by the end of the night, he'd ensured they wouldn't forget his name, not for a good while: Jeffrey Dexter Francis Vandersay had well and truly haunted them.

 

 

Act III, Scene I: Enter Jeffrey Vandersay

Charith Asalanka opted to bat first at the toss, and Sri Lanka managed to put up 240-9, a full 10 runs more than they scored in the tie of the first ODI. The Lankans had picked just one specialist pacer, and expected the pitch to slow up through the evening.

Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill got off to a rollicking start and by the time Vandersay came into the attack, they had knocked off a third of their target in just 11 overs. He got his second ball to stop on Rohit, who miscued a pull shot. Two balls later, he had India's captain going back to a ball he shouldn't have, beating the edge. His first over went for just four runs.

In his second, Vandersay struck as a full delivery to Rohit saw the batter attempt a reverse sweep. The extra bounce took the top edge of the bat, and Pathum Nissanka at point held on to a good running catch. It was perhaps a touch fortunate, but valuable nonetheless.

 

 

Having lost the aggressor in the opening partnership, India's run rate began to dip but they were still well ahead of the game. But the 18th over saw Vandersay return to set the nerves, not jangling, but lightly creaking, perhaps.

He tossed the first one up outside off stump – and Shubman Gill took the bait. The batter looked for a booming drive through covers, but got a thick edge. A superb one-handed effort from Kamindu Mendis at first slip meant India had now lost both openers, but no worries just yet.

Then, in strode the first of India's left-handed litany. After a couple of solid forward defences, Shivam Dube was beaten by a wrong 'un that pitched and moved away from him. Vandersay had laid the trap. The bowler then gave the next ball some air, landing it on a length on off stump. Dube, deceived by the flight, went back when he should have gone forward. The ball spat back into him, ramming his pad plumb in front of middle stump. India didn't bother reviewing the decision.

India three down, Vandersay three up. But still, advantage India.

Pressing home the advantage – the Vandersay way

Entering the 20th over of the chase, Vandersay's figures read 4-0-15-3. Up against him was Virat Kohli, master of the ODI chase for the best part of 15 years now. Ball one, defended. Ball two, left. Ball three, hit straight to the fielder. Ball four, Kohli played for the turn to a leg-break pitching on middle stump. It turned, but only ever so slightly, beating the bat on the inside and hitting Kohli on the pad. Like Dube before him, Kohli didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of surviving on review. Four down, all in Vandersay's pocket.

The leg-spinner struck again in his next over. After Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel had firmly set about trying to just rotate the strike, Sri Lanka had to start working a bit harder to extract wickets – and that was what Vandersay did. A third batter in succession made the fatal mistake of planting their front foot in line with the stumps. Iyer misread a delivery which came back into him, sharply enough for the umpire to rule not out, perhaps on the grounds it might be missing leg stump. No such luck, though, as Vandersay and Sri Lanka reviewed. Three reds and out.

India: 133-5. Jeffrey Vandersay: 5.5-0-23-5, his first five-for in international cricket. In a Bollywood production, this was where the background score would begin to swell as the plucky underdogs started to sniff victory. This was no fairytale for India, though. For them, it was less Alice in Wonderland, more Paralysis in Vanderland.

 

 

India's sixth-wicket pair was still KL Rahul and Axar Patel, so things were not done yet. But Vandersay came to the bowling crease for a seventh over on the trot, and on the first ball: ecstasy. Another slightly fortuitous wicket saw KL Rahul try to drive Vandersay through covers off just his second ball. The batter didn't quite get to the pitch of the ball, and it cannoned back onto the stumps off the inside edge. 

India were reeling by now, at 147-6 and Jeffrey Vandersay in 42 balls had collected a victims catalogue that many bowlers would be proud of across a career – Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Shivam Dube, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul.

Act III, Scene III: Exit Jeffrey Vandersay

Vandersay was taken out of the attack after this, ostensibly because two left-handers in Axar Patel and Washington Sundar had joined hands at the crease. By the time he returned, India were eight down with a further 50 still required. Miraculously, he got through his last three overs without striking again, although Kuldeep Yadav had to be saved by a review. He finished with figures of 10-0-33-6.

India were eventually all out for 208, as Charith Asalanka took three wickets and Arshdeep Singh was run out by a combination of the Mendises – Kusal and Kamindu. It was all over in a flash, and Vandersay narrowly missed out on becoming the third Sri Lankan spinner to take seven wickets in an ODI (not that one thinks he is overly fussed about it).

The first match of the series needed Sri Lanka's spinners to step up to the plate in order to tie the game. There was more tying on show in the second, but this time only of India's batters in knots by Jeffrey Dexter Francis Vandersay.

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