The slow pitch at the Premadasa was a throwback to the 90s. The seamers found movement with the new ball, but quick runs were in the offering too. Once the spinners came on, batsmen were in for a grind, where they had to indulge in ones and twos. The conditions dictated batsmen to play a different brand of cricket, from the 90s, which posed a challenge for both sets of batsmen from Sri Lanka and India. After a seven-and-a-half hour slugfest, there was nothing to separate largely ordinary batting from both teams as the first ODI ended in a tie.
With 231 to chase on a pitch that was only going to slow further down under lights, if not for Rohit Sharma’s aggressive approach at the top where he mixed aggression with caution, India would have fallen way short of the target. At 71/0 at the end of 10 overs, India appeared to be cruising. But the Premadasa pitch comes to life under lights. It is a scene Indians have witnessed in the 90s as once the ball got soft, Sri Lanka’s spinners made a match out of this. Every time India surged ahead, the hosts hit back, a theme that repeated throughout the evening. When Shivam Dube smashed a boundary off Charith Asalanka over with 5 needed off 16 deliveries and two wickets in hand, it appeared over. But Asalanka dismissed Dube and Arshdeep Singh off successive deliveries to tie the match.
Playing the first ODI in over six months, the rustiness of Indian batsmen was evident. After Rohit gave them a head start in the chase, making a 47-ball 58 which included seven boundaries and three sixes, the required run-rate remained under control until the end. All that India needed was one big partnership if not two vital ones. But barring the 57-run stand between KL Rahul and Axar Patel for the sixth wicket, the India’s batting line-up lost the way as Sri Lanka’s spinners took 9 of the 10 wickets to fall. After Rohit’s 57, only Axar and Rahul managed to cross 30s as Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and Dube all squandered starts.
What a dramatic turn of events! 😲
— Sony LIV (@SonyLIV) August 2, 2024
Back-to-back wickets for skipper Asalanka turned the game on its head, with the match tied! 😶🌫️
Watch #SLvIND ODI series LIVE on #SonyLIV 🍿 pic.twitter.com/qwu5rmlZIQ
Handy spinners
The Lankan pace attack is inexperienced, but their spinners – Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Akila Dananjaya – are all handy operators in home conditions. Once the new ball became soft, they made it difficult for India’s batsmen. Like India’s spinners in the first half of the match, they altered the pace brilliantly, mostly keeping it on 80kph or thereabouts. As the ball got softer, it gripped and turned But India’s batsmen could have done better, by just maneuvering the gaps. But they seldom did it.
When Rahul and Axar batted together, it seemed India have figured their way out. Most of their runs came in singles and twos as they went without a boundary for 52 deliveries. However, with the game in their graspo, Rahul would go for a sweep off Hasaranga, only to top-edge it to the short mid-wicket. India were still 41 runs away with 10 overs in hand. But Asalanka ejected Axar to keep the game on a knife’s edge.
Another day, another fifty for Rohit Sharma 🤯
— Sony LIV (@SonyLIV) August 2, 2024
Watch #SLvIND LIVE NOW on #SonyLIV 🍿 pic.twitter.com/hBSZk0vpVW
All this could have been avoided if India’s bowlers had managed to close out the game when Sri Lanka were 101/5 in 26.3 overs. The hosts were in the mood for another hara-kiri, with Janith Liyanage walking back to the pavilion when he had not edged the ball. Even Dunith Wellalage, who top-scored with an unbeaten 67, lived dangerously at the start, playing with hard hands unsuitable on this surface. But once he got through the anxious period with a help from DRS, the 21-year-old earmarked for a great career, showed his mettle. With Liyanagae, he stitched a crucial 41-runs stand that arrested their slide and put together 36 with Hasaranga that helped Sri Lanka consolidate, before a 46-run partnership with Akila injected momentum for the first time in the afternoon.
Maiden ODI fifty for the young gun Dunith Wellalage! A brilliant knock under pressure. Well played, Wella! Keep shining! 🌟 #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/jFkrA2hfPk
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) August 2, 2024
Before Wellalage, the only other Sri Lanka batsman to show any sort of application on the pitch was opener Pathum Nissanka. Since the start of 2020, wherein he averages 50.1, no opener has scored more runs than him in ODIs. He was steady against the new ball, as India struck early by removing Avishka Fernando. Dube, would then dismiss Kusal Mendis as India’s spinners took centre stage. Axar, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington all had very good outings as their combined figures of 4 for 112 from 29 overs kept Lanka under check. With a bit of luck, they could have added more to their wickets tally, but Lanka survived all of it to pull off a tie that tasted like a victory to them.
