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An inspiring all-round performance from Dunith Wellalage wasn't enough to take Sri Lanka over the finish line in their Asia Cup 2023 clash against India. The two sides faced off in the Super 4s at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Tuesday, September 12.
On the virtue of a 41-run victory, the Men in Blue also qualified for the final slated to be played on September 17. India rode on the back of some delightful strokeplay from captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. They raced to 80 runs in just 11 overs before the left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage wreaked havoc, taking three wickets.
It was a jaffa to dismiss Shubman Gill. The ball pitched around middle and then turned sharply to beat the outside edge and take the off stump. Virat Kohli's stay at the crease was short-lived as he ended up chipping one innocuous delivery straight down the throat of the midwicket fielder.
Rohit Sharma couldn't have done much with that arm ball which kept low and disturbed the timbers. All of a sudden from a very strong position, India were in a bit of a bother.
Wellalage continued to impart more revs on the ball and got purchase from the surface. Just when KL Rahul was steadying the ship, Wellalage broke through and eventually finished with figures of 5/40.
The Lankans bowled the Men in Blue out for just 213. Part-time spinner Charith Asalanka also had a great time, bagging four wickets.
While Sri Lanka couldn't quite chase down the target, the partnership between Wellalage and Dhananjaya de Silva reignited hopes of a special turnaround.
Wellalage struck the ball beautifully and looked set to take his side over the line. But he kept losing his partners at the other end and was left stranded on 42 when Kuldeep Yadav castled Matheesha Pathirana.
Despite Sri Lanka losing the game, the adjudicators handed the Player of the Match to Wellalage for his top-class all-round performance. His performance will give a lot of confidence to the young man ahead of the World Cup.
That said, let's take a look at the top five all-round performances against India in ODIs:
#5. Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)- 41 and 3/42 in Perth 2000
One of those impactful players in the white ball formats, Shahid Afridi produced a stellar all-round performance against India back in 2000. It was during a tri-nation series in Australia, where Afridi made his presence felt against the arch-rivals.
Back in those days, the Pakistani all-rounder used to open the batting in the company of Saeed Anwar. A naturally aggressive batter from the word go, Afridi took his time initially as the Indian fast bowlers started well.
He went on to score 41 off 58 deliveries which included a couple of fours and a six. Pakistan posted 261 in 50 overs and that proved more than enough in the end.
Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis broke the backbone of the batting line-up, reducing India to 33/5 in the 13th over. Just when a partnership was settling in for India, Afridi was introduced into the attack and he didn't disappoint.
He bagged the wicket of the set Robin Singh, who had already scored a half-century. Afridi then wiped out the tail, dismissing Anil Kumble and Ajit Agarkar. He eventually finished with 3/42 in 10 overs as Pakistan crushed their arch-rivals by 104 runs.
#4. Andrew Flintoff (England)- 40 and 3/38 in Mumbai 2002
It was the final ODI of the six-match bilateral series involving England and India way back in 2002. Andrew Flintoff was at his ominous best during the series and played a match-winning role as England won the game by five runs to level the series 3-3.
Riding on a superb 95 from Marcus Trescothick, England posted 255 after batting first.
From a very strong position, though, they collapsed like a pack of cards and it needed a steady knock from Andrew Flintoff to eventually take them to 255.He shared a crucial 37-run stand with Andrew Caddick for the final wicket. His knock of 40 came in just 50 deliveries which included 4 fours and a six.
It wasn't a daunting target and with a star-studded batting line-up, India would have surely backed themselves to chase this down. India looked in a commanding position when Sourav Ganguly was going great guns.
When he was dismissed on 80, India was well-placed at 191/4 and needed some sensible batting to get over the finish line.
However, Andrew Flintoff had other ideas. He bagged Mohammad Kaif's wicket on the final delivery of the 40th over before wiping out the tail with a couple of thunderbolts.
Flintoff took his shirt off in celebration after knocking off Javagal Srinath. The reaction promoted Sourav Ganguly to replicate a similar celebration on the Lord's balcony after India won the NatWest Trophy a few months later.
#3. Gary Crocker (Zimbabwe)- 50 and 4/26 in Harare 1992
A lanky left-arm pacer and a fine lower middle-order batter, Gary Crocker made a memorable debut against India back in 1992.
He took four wickets for just 26 runs before scoring a fine half-century. Zimbabwe lost the match by 30 runs but Crocker had made a significant impact.
He didn't make his international debut until he turned 30 years old. He received an emergency call late at night and had to make a 440-kilometer journey to make his debut.
Crocker hit the deck hard during his debut ODI against India and swung the ball both ways to trouble the Indian batters. His spell of 4/26 played a pivotal in Zimbabwe restricting India to 239.
It was a dream debut for Crocker. He bagged the wickets of Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Sanjay Manjrekar, and Manoj Prabhakar in his first international game.
He wasn't finished as Crocker looked fluent with the bat, scoring a 55 ball 50, studded with a couple of fours and as many sixes. Despite his exceptional effort, Zimbabwe was bowled out for 209 as India won by 30 runs.
#4. Ronnie Irani (England)- 53 and 5/26 at the Oval, London
Not one of the flamboyant all-rounders, Ronnie Irani was an ideal foil for the English team in the presence of players like Andrew Flintoff and Paul Collingwood.
Irani produced one of his finest all-round performances during the 2002 NatWest Trophy. He scored an impressive half-century as England posted 229 in 32 overs in a rain-curtailed game. Irani scored 53 off 54 deliveries which included a couple of fours and a six.
The score of 229 looked very good and the Men in Blue needed to start well to harbor hopes of chasing that down. They got off to a good start before Alex Tudor removed Sourav Ganguly. Just when Virender Sehwag was starting to look ominous, Ronnie Irani broke through as Sehwag nicked one straight to Alec Stewart.
Irani eventually finished with a fifer which included the wickets of Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Ajay Ratra, and Ajit Agarkar. He bowled in the right channels and also got some movement off the deck.
With the required rate climbing all the time, the Indian batters kept going for their shots and were eventually bowled out for 165. Irani finished with figures of 5/26 as England registered a 64-run victory.
#1. Abdul Razzaq (Pakistan)- 70 and 5/48 in Hobart, 2000
Back in those days, Abdul Razzaq had emerged as a top-class all-rounder for Pakistan especially in the 50-over format. He produced an all-round performance for the ages in a tri-series match against India in 2000.
Batting first Pakistan posted a more than competitive score of 262. Saeed Anwar and Ijaz Ahmed contributed well at the top of the order but at one stage it looked like India had their noses in front.
Razzaq then turned things around with a blistering knock of 70 in just 52 deliveries. He just blazed his way during the death overs and struck four fours and six sixes during his knock.
India got off to a solid start as the opening duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly shared a 99-run stand. Razzaq broke the partnership with the wicket of Ganguly and added one more in no time.
Despite wickets falling at the other end, Sachin Tendulkar looked set to take his side over the finish line. However, Razzaq had other ideas as he cut Tendulkar in half with a superb indipper which breached his defense and disturbed the timbers.
Razzaq added two more to his kitty when he castled Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath in a quick time. He finished with exceptional figures of 5/48 as Pakistan won by 32 runs.
