After dunith wellalage

After Dunith Wellalage: Coming in as a like-for-like replacement for injured Wanindu Hasaranga, leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay shone with a sensational six-wicket haul and powered Sri Lanka to a famous 32-run win over India and went 1-0 up in the three-match series at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.

After Dunith Wellalage and Kamindu Mendis rescued Sri Lanka’s innings for the second time in as many matches with an inspiring lower-order fightback to post a competitive 240/9, India were cruising at 97/0. But Rohit Sharma perishing to a reverse-sweep off Vandersay triggered a collapse to the leg-spinner, as he picked 6-33 in his 10 overs, the seventh-best figures by a Sri Lankan bowler in ODIs. Captain Charith Asalanka took three wickets with the ball again, including the big scalp of a defiant Axar Patel, to bowl out India for 208.

Rohit got India off to a flying start again by cutting Dunith Wellalage twice, before sweeping him to take three boundaries in the fourth over. He was quick to rock back and pull Akila Dananjaya for a four, followed by driving and pulling Asitha Fernando for a four and six respectively. When Dananjaya pitched it short, Rohit dispatched him off backfoot for six and stylishly brought up his second successive fifty in 29 balls by carving a delightful inside-out lofted shot over extra cover off Kamindu Mendis for six.