In what is their third consecutive day on the field, India got off to a strong start in their second 2023 Asia Cup Super Four match against Sri Lanka, at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
But just when it seemed this would be another high scoring outing for India, Lankan spinners Dunith Wellalage and Charith Asalanka rattled through the batting line-up. The former closed his spell with a 5-wicket haul, while the latter had 4 wickets in his possession.
The opening duo of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill were almost replicating their fiery form from two days ago at the same venue, and in the process, the Indian skipper went on to complete 10000 runs in ODI cricket.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, India got off to a solid start but the joy was fleeting as Wellalage produced a spectacular delivery to get rid of Shubman Gill. Only two overs later, he removed last match’s centurion Virat Kohli, swinging the game in favour of the hosts.
In his very next over, Wellalage worked his magic yet again. This time, he caught the big fish in Indian captain Rohit Sharma, whereas just after India had reached the 150-run mark, the youngster broke the blooming KL Rahul-Ishan Kishan partnership by dismissing the former.
Four overs later, he returned to complete his 5-wicket haul by scalping Hardik Pandya’s wicket.
Barring the left-arm spinner, Charith Asalanka also bowled a fine spell. He accounted for the remaining four wickets in a scintillating bowling display as he removed the likes of Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav in quick successions.
Charith Asalanka picked up four wickets.
(Photo: PTI)
All-rounder Axar Patel and Mohammed Siraj were holding the fort before there was yet another rain interruption in the Asia Cup in the 47th over of India’s innings. After a brief break, the action resumed, and spinner Maheesh Theekshana put the final nail in India’s coffin by dismissing Axar Patel to restrict them at 213 in 49.1 overs.
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