"I knew how much assistance there was from the pitch"- Dunith Wellalage opens up on plan to Rohit Sharma during 1st ODI
Sri Lankan all-rounder Dunith Wellalage delivered an all-round performance to help Sri Lanka rescue a tie against India in the first ODI of the ongoing three-match series. The game was played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday, August 2.
Wellalage bowled nine overs and conceded just 39 runs, picking up a couple of big wickets in the form of Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma. Gill tried to play a slog-sweep and hit one straight up in the air with Kusal Mendis completing a simple catch. Rohit, on the other hand, also tried a slog sweep but to a delivery that was too full and was trapped LBW.
Speaking to the reporters after the game, Dunith Wellalage opened up on Rohit Sharma's dismissal and his role in the powerplay. He said (via ICC):
"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."
The two wickets proved to be crucial in the end as despite the good start India got, they were bundled out for 230 with the match resulting in a tie.
Dunith Wellalage on getting inspired by Pathum Nissanka with the bat
Dunith Wellalage also played an incredible knock of 67* to help Sri Lanka post 230/8 on a challenging surface. He claimed that he took inspiration from how Pathum Nissanka batted and scored a fine half-century for himself.
On this, Wellalage stated:
"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."
The second ODI between the two teams will be played at the same venue on Sunday, August 4.