Latest Match Report – India vs Sri Lanka tenth Match, Tremendous 4 2023

India 213 (Rohit 53, Rahul 39, Wellalage 5-40, Asalanka 4-18) beat Sri Lanka 172 (Wellalage 42*, de Silva 41, Kuldeep 4-43, Bumrah 2-30, Jadeja 2-33) by 41 runs

On a floor the place India picked three frontline spinners and misplaced all ten of their wickets to spin for the primary time in ODIs, it was the standard of their quick bowlers that made the telling distinction. Defending 214, India had Sri Lanka three down earlier than bowling a single ball of spin, and that had repercussions that rippled via the remainder of the sport.

Dhananjaya de Silva and Dunith Wellalage introduced Sri Lanka’s equation all the way down to 52 from 82 balls with a partnership of brisk partnership of 63 however crucially within the context of this recreation the stand got here with little or no batting to observe. Whilst their spinners struggled to exert management over this pair, India knew that one wicket would open up the decrease order.

When India did so, they wrapped up a 41-run win, a deceptive margin in a contest stuffed with rigidity, additionally sealing a spot within the Asia Cup ultimate whereas ending Bangladesh’s probabilities. Sri Lanka’s successful streak ended at 13 ODIs, however Wellalage, all of 20 and taking part in simply his thirteenth ODI, remained proudly undefeated on the end. He was unbeaten having top-scored with a fluent and precociously composed 42, and it was his much less important contribution to the match; he had seemed unplayable at occasions whereas taking his maiden five-for earlier within the day, every of his victims a member of India’s prime six.

The match was performed on a special pitch to the India-Pakistan recreation, with far much less grass cowl, and India altered their assault within the clear expectation of flip. However it took till the twelfth over of the sport for proof of simply how a lot – and the way unpredictable – the flip could be, as India’s openers adopted up back-to-back century stands with a brisk partnership of 80. Rohit Sharma dominated the stand, hitting a flurry of boundaries together with 4 fours off Dasun Shanaka within the tenth over and a straight six off Kasun Rajitha within the seventh that took him previous 10,000 ODI runs.

Dunith Wellalage struck in every of his first three overs•AFP/Getty Photographs

Maheesh Theekshana had bowled contained in the powerplay but it surely took the introduction of a standard fingerspinner for the character of the pitch to grow to be clear. It was rapid, with Wellalage getting his first ball to dip on Shubman Gill and switch previous his exterior edge to hit off stump. By his third over, Wellalage had despatched again all of India’s prime three. The balls that received him his second and third wickets confirmed how difficult the floor was: the primary stopped on Virat Kohli to have him caught off an uppish flick, and the second skidded via low, with the angle, to bowl Rohit for 53 off 48 balls.

Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul steadied India with a fourth-wicket stand of 63, and it appeared, at 154 for 3 within the thirtieth over, that they have been on target for no less than 250. However Rahul fell to a different ball that caught within the pitch, adopted by Kishan failing to get the specified elevation whereas trying to hit Charith Asalanka over quick extra-cover. Wellalage then struck a important blow with the final ball of his spell, discovering sharp flip to have Hardik Pandya caught behind whereas defending, leaving India needing to squeeze each drop from their additional batting depth, with the inclusion of Axar Patel at No. 8.

It wasn’t fairly to be, at the same time as Axar struck an necessary 26, with the part-time offspin of Asalanka claiming 4 for 18 in 9 overs both facet of a quick rain delay, within the clearest indication of how this pitch was taking part in.

Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj took the brand new ball from every finish in India’s protection, and the the distinction in high quality between these two and Sri Lanka’s injury-hit tempo assault was shortly evident, with the scorecard studying 25 for 3 contained in the eighth over. Each discovered swing, however extra important was the motion and bounce they extracted by hammering away on the shorter facet of a very good size.

There was Bumrah’s genius too. To Kusal Mendis, he adopted a searing, stump-bound yorker with a dipping slower supply of comparable size and wider line. With lbw behind his thoughts and his entrance leg cautious of shifting throughout his stumps, Mendis reached for the ball and spooned one to quick cowl.

Asalanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama introduced Sri Lanka again with a 43-run stand for the fourth wicket, earlier than Kuldeep Yadav, recent off a five-wicket haul towards Pakistan, made his first incision. Having largely bowled his ordinary stump-to-stump line early on, he went wider and located sharp flip to stump a charging, flailing Samarawickrama.

Kuldeep and wicketkeeper Rahul then mixed once more to have Asalanka caught off the glove whereas sweeping, earlier than de Silva and Shanaka staged a minor restoration. Ravindra Jadeja ended that partnership, altering ends and discovering additional flip to have Shanaka caught at slip, and that ball illustrated his menace completely: he was getting some balls to show and others to go along with the angle from roughly the identical space, whereas delivering with kind of the identical launch.

Axar, nonetheless, was struggling to copy this two-way menace: he barely received something to show towards his angle from broad of the crease, and de Silva specifically milked him. Axar completed with 0 for 29 in 5 overs.

De Silva and Wellalage continued to attain shortly even after Axar’s elimination from the assault, and started to play pictures that will have fearful India significantly. De Silva punched Bumrah crisply off the again foot for 4 behind level, and within the subsequent over Wellalage slog-swept Kuldeep for the primary six of the innings. By the top of that over, the thirty third, the seventh-wicket pair had placed on 49 in 47 balls.

However after 4 quiet overs of solely 9 runs from Bumrah, Hardik and Jadeja, Wellalage stepped out to drill Jadeja previous mid-off for 4, nonetheless de Silva could not execute the identical over mid-on, and India had their opening. Hardik then despatched Theekshana again with a slower ball, and the top adopted swiftly. Kuldeep bowled Kasun Rajitha with a unsuitable’un that was too good for a No. 10 earlier than Matheesha Pathirana missed a sweep two balls later.

Wellalage remained caught on the different finish watching this unfold, a destiny that may usually befall No. 8s. On the proof of his innings, although, he will not be batting there for for much longer, and when Wanindu Hasaranga returns from damage, Sri Lanka can have one hell of a variety headache.

Karthik Krishnaswamy is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo