Asia Cup: Unintimidated big names or big occasion, Dunith Wellalage rummages through India’s batting lineup | Cricket News
Having seen Dunith Wellalage at close quarters as both opposition coach and as part of his own team, Jehan Mubarak, the former Sri Lanka cricketer and current Under-19 coach, is not surprised his latest star turn against India on Tuesday. “Many of them tend to underestimate him his frame and think he can be pushed over. When he is bowling, they try to attack him and when he is batting, they try to bounce him out.
“So he is used to that, and he never backs down. He has more maturity than his age and is a fighter to the core. He always wants to do well in tough situations and I’ve seen him do that many times against the school I coached,” Mubarak told The Indian Express.
On Tuesday, despite India getting off to a solid start, Wellalage, the 20-year-old who captained Sri Lanka in the 2022 Under-19 World Cup in the Caribbean, was not intimidated big names. With the conditions aiding him, Wellalage just focused on hitting the right lengths. Off the first ball, he removed Shubman Gill drawing him forward, beating him in flight and taking the off-stump. In his second over, he got the prized wicket of Virat Kohli, and off the next, undid Rohit Sharma with an arm-ball. 80/1 in 11 overs became 91/3 at the star of the 15th.
☝ Shubman Gill☝ Virat Kohli☝ Rohit Sharma
A stunning spell from Dunith Wellalage sees India’s top three back in the hut 🪄#INDvSL 📝: https://t.co/wrkCBdraLq pic.twitter.com/vOlTAJKSZT
— ICC (@ICC) September 12, 2023
Maturity beyond his years
“From the Under-19 days to now, he has had a very seamless transition that everyone expected him to have. At this level, there is a lot of information being fed in from all quarters and it varies from each and every team he plays. But, he knows to filter them all and just pick what works for him.
“An experienced cricketer can do that, but for a 20-year-old to understand that is what makes him stand out from the pack. His maturity as a batsman or bowler, he reads the game very well and has a lot of confidence in his ability. He knows how to use the skills he has and believes he can turn things around. If a 20-year-old is doing it, then even the senior players tend to step up. This is what he has been doing since age-group cricket,” Mubarak said.
With the top-order gone, the middle-order was continually choked Wellalage. KL Rahul was the only batsman who appeared at ease against the Lankan spinners, using his feet and the crease to good effect before being undone the two-pace nature of the pitch and giving a return catch to Wellalage. And when Hardik Pandya departed off the final ball of his 10th over, Welallage had five wickets in the bag.
For India, a spin headache
For a line-up that comprises mostly right-handers, India have struggled to force the pace when spinners who take the ball away from them are at play. It was the reason they have been looking at left-field choices like Ishan Kishan and Axar Patel to bat at No 4 or 5 when spinners are at play. With Australia, England, New Zealand all having wr-spinners and left-arm fingers spinners in their line-up, on Tuesday, India missed a chance to find some avenues.
This was never going to be a walk in the park. India had to sweat it out, more so on these conditions against some quality spinners – the kind that have tested them immensely in the past. Rohit and Gill started with their safety-first game. With the pitch being two-paced, they just pounced on the loose balls, cutting out any risk, especially with Maheesh Theekshana bowling from one end. But as the spinners, led Wellalage, applied the squeeze, a collapse ensued.Most Read
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This was no means a flat deck, but still there were concerning signs for India with the way the trump cards they used failed to drive home any sort of advantage. Left-hander Ishan, who was promoted up the order to No 4 to break the shackles, could hardly make an impact, taking 61 deliveries for 31 in a knock that showed his limitations in the middle-order.
India can still go back to Shreyas Iyer, who is known to dismantle spinners, and like Rahul, prefers to use his feet. But playing him means India will have to keep someone like Axar as an option in conditions where three spinners can play at the World Cup, which includes games against Australia in Chennai, England in Lucknow, and Afghanan in Delhi.
That apart from Wellalage, even Charith Asalanka, who hardly bowls, accounted for four wickets; and that Sri Lanka were missing Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Dilshan Madushanka – four first-choice bowlers – would leave the team’s think tank with a few post-match questions.
