IND vs SL 2021: [Watch] Chetan Sakariya grabs maiden wicket after Nitish Rana's horror drop
Chetan Sakariya finally reaped the reward for his tight bowling in the 3rd India-Sri Lanka ODI when he dismissed Bhanuka Rajapaksa for his maiden international wicket.
Bowling just his fourth over of the match, the debutant left-arm seamer bowled a bouncer on the leg-stump which was helped on its way by Rajapaksa to the right of the fine leg fielder. Another debutant, Krishnappa Gowtham, covered a good distance, put in a slide, and bagged the catch safely.
Chetan Sakariya held his arms aloft in ecstasy but the memorable moment didn't come easily for the bowler. His previous delivery to the same batsman derived a squarer pull-shot. Nitish Rana went with reverse-cupped hands but spilled it horribly and the ball bounced over the boundary line.
Here's a video of both the deliveries:
Rajapaksa looked good at the pitch and at the time of his wicket, was the highest scorer with 65 runs. His propensity of picking up boundaries - he scored 12 of them - at regular intervals had kept India under pressure throughout his time at the crease.
One brings two for Chetan Sakariya
It was surprising to see Shikhar Dhawan giving just two overs to Chetan Sakariya upfront. And the 23-year-old proved that he deserved more by picking up another wicket in his second spell.
New batsman Dhanajaya de Silva became the latest to be outfoxed by his variations. Chetan Sakariya bowled a back-of-the-hand slower one which gripped in the pitch and hit the batsman flush on the gloves. De Silva was committed on the front foot and the ball popped straight back to the bowler for an easy catch.
Chetan Sakariya's double strike has brought India back into the game. Rajapaksa and Avishka Fernando's 109-run stand had put the visitors under the pump but now they will definitely fancy their chances against a papery Sri Lankan middle-order.