"Put his batting in my mind" - Dunith Wellalage cites his teammate as inspiration after playing crucial knock in IND vs SL 1st ODI
Sri Lanka all-rounder Dunith Wellalage has opened up on his valuable innings of 67 runs in the first ODI against India in Colombo on Friday, August 2. The youngster revealed that he tried to bat like his teammate Pathum Nissanka.
After Sri Lanka elected to bat first, Nissanka (56 off 75 balls) was their only batter among the top 5 to score a half-century on a tricky surface. The hosts still struggled at the halfway mark as India sensed bowling them out cheaply. Nevertheless, Wellalage's calculated counterattack ensured that Sri Lanka batted out the entire 50 overs and reached 230/8.
At a post-match presser, Wellalage said all he concentrated on was building partnerships, as the spinner-friendly pitch required patience. He said, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:
"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."
With the ball, Wellalage was incisive as the spin quartet exploited the conditions to significant effect to take the match down to the wire. The 21-year-old snared two crucial scalps and took a catch as the match was eventually tied.
"They took wickets at very difficult times" - Dunith Wellalage on Wanindu Hasaranga and Charith Asalanka
Wellalage credited Wanindu Hasaranga and Charith Asalanka for taking crucial Indian wickets. He felt the partnership between Axar Patel and KL Rahul almost took the match away from Sri Lanka.
"When we bowled, the game changed with the wickets that Wanindu aiya and Charith aiya took. They took wickets at very difficult times, and that's how we were able to at least keep it to this score. If you take Axar Patel and KL Rahul, these are batters who have finished a lot of matches. At that time we needed to get the bowlers in, and when Charith aiya got Axar out and Wanindu aiya got KL Rahul out. It was important to stay calm at that stage, and the match turned our way," Wellalage said in the same press conference.
The second ODI between the two sides will take place on Sunday, August 4, at the same venue.