SL vs IND: Dunith Wellalage draws inspiration from Pathum Nissanka, reveals bowling plans in first ODI

Dunith Wellalage was adjudged player of the match in the first ODI against India in Colombo. When Sri Lanka were in a tight spot, the 21-year-old played a vital knock of 67* runs off 65 deliveries as the hosts posted 230 runs in the first innings. They were reduced to 142/6 at one stage and it did not look like Sri Lanka would cross the 200-run barrier but Wellalage took control of the situation and delivered under pressure to help his team post a competitive total on board. 

When it came to the chase, Wellalage picked up two crucial wickets of Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma. The India captain was looking in fine form as he scored 58 runs before the Colombo-born cricketer got the better of him. It derailed India’s momentum as the middle order failed to capitalize and the match ended on level terms.

After the game, Wellalage revealed that he drew inspiration from Pathum Nissanka, who played a crucial knock of 56 runs. He mentioned that India had quality bowlers in the rank and his goal was to limit his mistakes and put pressure on the visitors. He was successful in doing so and building crucial partnerships, which arguably rescued the hosts in the first ODI.

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“They have a lot of experienced bowlers, so the more we can limit our mistakes, the more we can put pressure on them. I was watching Pathum Nissanka bat quite a lot. I put his batting in my mind as I came up with a plan. If you take the pitch, it was one that supported spin bowling. I tried to put as much pressure on the bowler and build partnerships,” Wellalage was revealed as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

Wellalage also mentioned that Asalanka informed him of bowling in the powerplay as the ball was turning. He added that the surface helped the spinners and he planned to bowl to the stumps, which resulted in him picking up the wicket of Rohit.

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“We knew that the wicket was spinning. So Charith Asalanka had told me that I would be bowling in the powerplay. I had good support from the wicket too. With Rohit at the time, I was trying just to bowl wicket-to-wicket, because I knew how much assistance there was from the pitch,” Wellalage said.