It was the same month, August, in 2017, when Akila Dananjaya was all over the Indian batting line-up, bagging a six-wicket haul. It seemed like Sri Lanka would win easily, but India managed to clinch it thanks to a match-winning partnership between MS Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Fast forward to 2024, Dananjaya saw his compatriot Jeffrey Vandersay do the same, rattling the Indians with a six-fer, but this time the effort came in a winning cause.
Batting second, India were cruising along, with skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill adding 97 runs for the first wicket. What transpired next was a spin bowling masterclass from Vandersay. He dismissed both openers to start the collapse. The big three of the middle-order — Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul — failed to read him on a spinning wicket.
Leg-spin, googly, flipper — Vandersay had everything while returning figures of 6/33. The Indians looked clueless against him. Not just the variations, he outfoxed the batters with his tight lines. He made them play more often than not, which resulted in wickets. While Axar Patel fought hard for a valiant innings of 44, he too succumbed to spin. While the other spinners failed to complement Vandersay, skipper Charith Asalanka stepped up to take three wickets, bowling out India for 208 and helping the team win the second ODI by 32 runs.
This once again raises questions about the Indian batters’ ability to play spin on a turning wicket. Apart from Rohit and Axar, no one seemed comfortable against spin, particularly against Vandersay.
With the bat, Sri Lanka did well to post a total of 240 after being cornered at 136/6. The recovery was once again led by 21-year-old Dunith Wellalage, who found strong support from Kamindu Mendis. Their strategy to lengthen the batting line-up paid off.
Earlier, Mohammed Siraj had made an immediate impact, dismissing Pathum Nissanka with the first ball of the game. Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis stabilised the innings with a 74-run partnership for the second wicket. The Indian spinners soon took control, with Fernando falling just before the first drinks break.
Washington Sundar bowled an excellent spell, which resulted in the loss of two more quick wickets for Sri Lanka. Wellalage stepped up again, this time with Kamindu Mendis, adding 72 crucial runs. Even after Wellalage’s dismissal, India found it challenging to wrap things up as Dananjaya contributed a vital 15 runs. India struggled to take wickets at the end, despite dominating the middle overs, and their fielding was sloppy. After a tie in the first match, the ODI series heads to a decider to be played on August 7.