Asia Cup 2023: Rain Stops The Play After Sri Lankan Spin Duo Of Wellalage And Asalanka Magic

Asia Cup 2023: Rain Stops The Play After Sri Lankan Spin Duo Of Wellalage And Asalanka Magic (Image Source: IANS)

Premadasa Stadium: Heavy rainfall halted play at the R. Premadasa Stadium after the Sri Lankan spin duo of Dunith Wellalage and Charith Asalanka trapped the Indian batters in their web, restricting them to 197/9 in 47 overs in their Super 4 clash in the Asia Cup on Tuesday.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, India's opening duo of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill yet again provided a solid start to the inning. Before Gill became the first victim of Wellalage, both the openers added 80 runs on the board.

Virat Kohli's struggles against left-arm spin continued as he handed an easy catch off Wellalage at the short mid-wicket. The Indian batting completely collapsed after that they lost six wickets for just 95 runs.

However, Rohit Sharma scored yet another half-century in two consecutive matches. He also reached the landmark of 10,000 runs and became the second fastest in the world after Virat Kohli.

The 20-year-old Wellalage shared the weight of the Sri Lankan bowling order as the duo shared the nine wickets that fell on Tuesday. Wellalage went on to take his maiden five-wicket haul in One-Day Internationals and finished with 5 for 40 in 10 overs. Charith Asalanka took 4 wickets and gave away only 18 runs in 9 overs of his quota.

The rain looks heavy for now and the forecast doesn’t look promising. The officials are expected to inspect the ground soon after the rain stops and take a call on the resumption of play.

Brief score:

India 197/9 in 47 overs (Rohit Sharma 53, K.L. Rahul 39; Dunith Wellalage 5-40, Charith Asalanka 4-18) against Sri Lanka