SL vs WI : Dunith Wellalage & Pathum Nissanka Hammer West Indies To Square T20I Series

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Player of the Match (POTM) Pathum Nissanka set up the game beautifully after skipper Charith Asalanka won the toss and elected to have a bat first. Sri Lanka roared back in the second T20I to level the series 1-1 against the West Indies, decimating their opponents by 73 runs. Pathum Nissanka‘s 50 took the hosts to 162 for 5 but the Sri Lankan’s spun a web on a track which aided turn.

With the bat, Pathum Nissanka’s 54 off 49 had helped set the platform as Sri Lanka did well to keep a steady run rate throughout their innings, having won the toss and elected to bat first. There were also runs for Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera and Kamindu Mendis, but this game was all about Sri Lanka’s spinners who showed total dominance in the West Indian chase.

Dunith Wellalage returned figures of 3/9 in his four overs and made an impact straightaway on his T20I debut. The left-arm orthodox bowler accounted for Brandon King, wicketkeeper-batter Andre Fletcher and Roston Chase

Pitch Report and Toss

Pitch Report: We have had intermittent showers and gloomy days but it has cleared up. It’s the same pitch that was used in the first T20I. It looks on the drier side. I think spin is the way to win on the surface. You need to hit the back of a length area on this surface. Win the toss and bat first, 175 is a par score, reckons Russell Arnold

Toss : Sri Lanka skipper Charith Asalanka won the toss and chose to bat with Dunith Wellalage making his debut in T20Is. Also Nuwan Thushara replaces Asitha Fernando in the playing XI.  West Indies skipper Rovman Powell bowling first made one change in the playing XI with Shai Hope being replaced by Andre Fletcher.

Pathum Nissanka’s 54 powers SL to 162 for 5 in 20 overs

On the face of it, Pathum Nissanka’s innings seemed to be more detrimental than anything else – and by the standards of modern T20 cricket, it was not too difficult to understand why. This was an innings that saw 42 runs come in boundaries (9 fours and a six) but also included 27 dot balls.

In fact, it was a microcosm of Sri Lanka’s innings as a whole; they played out 58 dots. It meant that in five of the first ten overs less than five runs were scored, and roughly half of their powerplay total of 52 was plundered in one Shamar Joseph over, where a combination of luck and belligerence saw Pathum Nissanka plunder 25 runs.

But if that over was meant to signal the start of Sri Lanka’s onslaught, Pathum Nissanka and Co seemed to have other ideas. That over ensured that the first three overs, in which Sri Lanka scrounged together eight runs, were quickly in the rearview; by the end of the powerplay Sri Lanka’s run rate was at a healthy 8.66 – but that was the highest it would reach at any point across their innings.

The rest of Pathum Nissanka’s time at the crease was spent punctuating periods of dot deliveries and the odd single with an odd boundary. But the time he spent at the crease ensured he was able to do this consistently – and with it keep Sri Lanka’s scoring rate ticking above seven an over.

Anchors are largely considered obsolete in T20s, but on a wicket such as this Pathum Nissanka – who was named Player of the Match – proved to be invaluable (even if it did not seem so at the time), as he allowed the likes of Perera to take early risks. And then with wickets in hand for the death overs, the middle and lower order hit out freely. As a result, Sri Lanka struck 85 runs in the last ten overs – just four short of West Indies’ final total.

Sri Lanka won a good toss and with no hesitation opted to bat but the openers couldn’t get going as they were 8 for 0 after three overs. However, Shamar Joseph’s 25-run second-over saw five boundaries scored, four off the bat of Pathum Nissanka to get the innings going.

Pathum Nissanka hit a six off Gudakesh Motie before his partner, Kusal Mendis hit a four and another maximum to bring up 50 for the hosts within the PowerPlay. Things looked to be getting worse for the visitors as Shamar Springer bowled a 13-run over including six wides, and a drop catch of Pathum Nissanka by Roston Chase. But Springer made use of the extra balls and got Kusal Mendis to toe-end one to long-on.

Incoming batter, Kusal Perera hit three boundaries off Chase as the hosts brought up the 100 in the 13th over. But the left-hander was trapped LBW as he played across the line to Shamar. Pathum Nissanka brought up his 50 with a single but had his stumps rattled when Joseph shaped one into him which he missed. Kamindu Mendis played a decent knock of 19 (14) and Wanindu Hasaranga wrapped up the innings with a four making West Indies pay as he was dropped few balls earlier.

Pathum Nissanka stitched a 77-run stand alongside wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis and got Sri Lanka off to a solid start. Mendis fell to Shamar Springer on the last delivery of the 10th over but Pathum Nissanka kept going.

Pathum Nissanka struck nine fours and a maximum during his 49-ball knock before Alzarri Joseph cleaned him up. Kusal Perera (24 runs off 16 balls) and Kamindu Mendis (19 off 14 balls) accumulated quick runs to ensure the Lankan Lions posted 162 for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs. Allrounder Romario Shepherd was the pick of all the Windies bowlers. He finished with figures of 2/23 in his three overs.

Debutant Dunith Wellalage’s 3-fer the star as SL beat WI by 73 runs to level series 1-1

In reply, West Indies never looked comfortable as the Sri Lankan bowlers sucked the life out of their run chase. It turned out to be a spin fest as Maheesh Theekshana, Wellalage, Asalanka and Wanindu Hasaranga all picked up wickets. Hasaranga (2/32), Asalanka (2/6), and Theekshana (2/7) thoroughly supported Wellalage as the tourists got bundled out for just 89 and couldn’t even play out their quota of overs. Sri Lanka’s convincing win over West Indies has set up the game beautifully for the spectators.

Spin was expected to be introduced early and debutant Dunith Wellalage picked up player of the last game, Brandon King, stumped by Kusal behind the stumps to land an early blow on West Indies. Evin Lewis fell few balls later, given LBW trying to sweep Maheesh Theekshana while Chase was bowled by Wellalage.

The pitch provided 3.8 degrees of turn compared to 1.8 for the first T20I and Andre Fletcher was next to go, as Wellalage picked up his third. Through the chaos, West Indies went 37 deliveries without a boundary before Sherfane Rutherford hit Kamindu over covers to the fence. Skipper Charith Asalanka brought himself into the attack and picked up Gudakesh Motie and Sherfane Rutherford within an over.

Wanindu Hasaranga dismissed Romario Shepherd and Springer across two overs. Rovman Powell hit the first six of the innings during a 23-run partnership with Joseph. But Matheesha Pathirana bounced him out while Theekshana wrapped up the game with a carrom-ball to dismiss Alzarri Joseph.

Hasaranga, Sri Lanka’s premier spinner, bowled his first delivery of the game in the 11th over of the chase. And the fact that he picked up a wicket with that delivery was perhaps the least remarkable aspect about it.

What was more astounding was that he was the sixth bowler used by Sri Lanka, and West Indies had still managed to collapse to 39 for 6. But who needs Hasaranga when you have the world-renowned offspin stylings of, um, Charith Asalanka. Yes, with two left-hand batters at the crease, the Sri Lanka captain opted to introduce himself and a right-arm variant of Kamindu Mendis ahead of Hasaranga.

And it worked too. Asalanka’s two overs brought two wickets for just six runs – and those weren’t even the best figures at that stage of the game. No, that honor belonged to Wellalage – though he is by no means new to the international stage – who had grabbed three for himself.

In the lead-up to the game, Asalanka had stated how he had expected more for the spinners in the first T20I, and his wish was granted and then some in the second. Gudakesh Motie turning the ball square in the first innings would have set off West Indies’ alarm bells, but not even that could have prepared them for a 100kph sharp-turning off break from Theekshana.

Presentations and Road Ahead

Charith Asalanka the winning skipper said : It is an important win for us. It is a journey and hopefully this win will be a start. It was a good toss to win. We were thinking 160-170 would be a par score and the openers set the platform. He (Wellalage) has experience playing 50-over cricket and didn’t look like a debutant. Hopefully we win the series.

Rovman Powell the losing skipper said : At the halfway stage we believed we can get 160. But it was not a T20 wicket and they (SL) used the conditions nicely tonight. It was just the case of us not reaching for the ball like we did. We have 24 hours to look at what we can do better.

T20 cricket is all about match-ups and that’s why I got my left-arm spinner against their right-hand batters, same thing they did with their left-arm spinner. West Indies love a final and that game should be very good.

Pathum Nissanka Player of the Match for his 54 runs said : “It’s a really hard wicket to bat on and I played to my strengths. We had targeted 160 right from the start. They only had one main spinner, and we wanted to cover his overs and we were able to do that. My leg is ok – it’s just a cramp.”

When Theekshana with his quick darts starts turning the ball square then it is trouble for any team. West Indies were never in the chase. They were blown away by Sri Lanka’s spinners especially debutant Dunith Wellalage. The left-arm spinner finished with impressive figures of 3/9 in his 4 overs and that spell put West Indies on the back foot early on.

There was no recovering from that as Asalanka kept bringing one spinner after another, he too bowled and picked up a couple of wickets. Rovman Powell along with Alzarri Joseph showed a bit of resistance and ensured it is not an embarrassing defeat for the visitors. But it is still a big loss and one that exposed West Indies’ batting when the ball is turning.

So, a thumping victory for Sri Lanka tonight to level the series. The hosts are always a force to reckon with when there’s turn and grip available on the surface and their spinners once again proved that tonight. The West Indies’ batters difficulties against quality spin bowling on a slightly sluggish pitch surfaced once again.

West Indies have crumbled to a double-figure score, with the spinners – led by debutant Wellalage – doing the damage. He’s just got that dynamism about his cricket doesn’t he It’s just his first T20I game, but there is a tenacity there that suggests Wellalage is going to play many. many more matches in this format. His figures were a spectacular: 3 wickets for 9 runs from 4 overs. Theekshana, Hasaranga, and Asalanka took two apiece.

Sri Lanka’s spinners ripped through the West Indies batters on a turning Dambulla surface to level the series at one apiece, as they won the second ODI by 73 runs.

Debutant Dunith Wellalage – belatedly making his T20I bow – was the pick of the bowlers, ending with figures of 3 for 9, while Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga and Charith Asalanka grabbed two each. Matheesha Pathirana was the sole seamer to pick up a wicket in the innings.

With the bat, Pathum Nissanka’s 54 off 49 had helped set the platform as Sri Lanka did well to keep a steady run rate throughout their innings, having won the toss and elected to bat first. There were also runs for Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera and Kamindu Mendis, but this game was all about Sri Lanka’s spinners who showed total dominance in the West Indian chase.

The first T20I had seen the West Indies batters execute their plans to perfection and put Sri Lanka’s bowlers to the sword. Stepping out, moving around in the crease, using the depth, everything came off, with the last over-finish in reality nowhere close as it looked. Sri Lanka, though, took their learnings and came back stronger – mainly in that they were prepared for what this surface was set to offer, replacing pace-bowling allrounder Chamindu Wickramasinghe with Wellalage.

West Indies, however, seemed to have missed the memo, and had only two spinners in their line-up. And those two – Motie and Roston Chase – did their part, going for just 37 off their collective eight overs. It will not be a surprise if Fabian Allen gets a go in the final game.

West Indies’ batters then seemed at a loss on how to deal with Sri Lanka’s array of spin threats, expertly utilizing the conditions along with clever variations in pace, line and length. West Indies will need to come up with plans soon if they are to pose a threat in Thursday’s decider The third and final T20I of the series will be played on Thursday, October 17.

Also Read: IND vs ENG: “Side Arm Specialists In India Need To Work Hard To Prepare Batters For Tough Times”- Abhishek Jain Gives His Invaluable Insights

 

 

 


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