The 20-year-old Dunith Wellalage became an overnight sensation after his all-round show against the Indian cricket team in the Super 4 round of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023. Though, his team Sri Lanka lost the game but he stole the show with his brilliance – first with the ball and then with the bat.
Dunith Wellalage Stole The Show With His All-Round Show
The Sri Lanka all-rounder first dominated the Men in Blue with the ball, dismissing five of India’s top seven, he then hit an unbeaten 42 off 46 balls with the bat during Sri Lanka’s chase. He also took a brilliant catch standing short cover to send back Ishan Kishan off Charith Asalanka’s bowling.
Wellalage got the wickets of Gill, Kohli, Rohit with different deliveries. While Shubman Gill got one that turned past his bat, on the other hand, Virat was sucked early into the backfoot punch and giving a simple catch to mid-wicket. Rohit Sharma’s stumps were rattled. In his second spell, he dismissed a well-set Rahul and then got Hardik Pandya caught behind with a delivery.
Later, after the match, during the post-match presentation, the 20-year-old was asked about which one was his favorite among the wickets of Rohit, Gill, Kohli, Rahul, and Hardik, that he took during the game. Wellalage did not give a direct answer but he hailed Kohli as the No.1 batter and also expressed his happiness in dismissing Kohli and Rohit. He said:
“For me, Virat Kohli is the No. 1 batsman. I am very happy to have got those two (Kohli and Rohit) big wickets. I trust my basics, and trust myself,”
Further, Wellalage said he was trying to bowl a wicket-to-wicket line against the experienced batters. He said:
“The batters were set and India had got off to a fabulous start. I just tried to bowl wicket to wicket. Once we got those three wickets in three overs, we were able to put India under pressure.”
He added: “There was turn and when you put the ball in the right area, you could unsettle the batsmen. But I would have been happier with a win,”
Wellalage Hailed Kuldeep Yadav
Dunith Wellalage also heaped praise on Kuldeep Yadav, who turned out to be a star for India with the ball, picking four wickets to help India defend 213. He said:
“First of all I want to congratulate the Indian team. They have so many experienced players but unfortunately, we lost the game but we have another game and we want to put up a good fight. Kuldeep is a great bowler, I tried to play my normal game with a positive mindset. I want to thank my teammates and my coaching staff – they gave me great support,”
