The first ODI between India and Sri Lanka was a thriller. Even though the match moved to the very last ball, it ended in a tie. Both teams locked horns with all their strength but the end was tough. However, while batting in the first innings, Dunith Wellalage played an exciting knock which gave a huge boost to Sri Lanka’s innings. After the match, he was awarded the Player of the Match and shared his thoughts.
Sri Lanka’s Fight and Wellalage’s Words:
After losing the T20I series by a 3-0 margin, the Sri Lankan side was aiming for a remarkable comeback. In this match, Sri Lankan skipper Charitha Asalanka won the toss and opted to bat first. While batting first, the team lost some wickets consecutively. But Pathum Nissanka played an exciting innings of 56 runs in 75 balls.
While batting at number 7, Dunith Wellalage’s unbeaten inning was a huge boost to the team. He maintained a decent partnership which helped the team to put on some crucial runs on the board. Liyanage added 20 runs. After Liyanage’s dismissal, he maintained another crucial partnership with Wanindu Hasaranga. Wellalage remained unbeaten on 67 runs in 65 balls.
After the match, he opened up on that. Wellalage said, “I came with a plan. The wicket was turning. Spinners bowled really well, I wanted to put their bowlers under pressure. Me and Janith Liyanage wanted to put some partnership. After that, Wanindu Hasaranga came and we had a good partnership.”
On the Game Plan and Words on Teammates:
After winning the toss, Sri Lanka opted to bat first. Despite some early setbacks, some responsible knocks pushed them towards a strong total. In the second innings, the match was a bit easy for Sri Lanka to put pressure on India. The Indian batters struggled to score runs later on the pitch.
While talking about this, he said, “The wicket was slow. We planned to score 220. Wicket was little bit good during the second innings. Our skipper and Wanindu Hasaranga changed the game. We played a good match today.”
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