In the third and final ODI between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo, the Indian batting lineup struggled to cope with Dunith Wellalage’s five-wicket haul.
On a turning track, chasing 249 runs, India were all bowled out at just 138 in 26.1 overs thus giving Sri Lanka a resounding win of 110 runs and their first bilateral series victory over India since 1997.
Sri Lankan spinners outsmarted Indian batters as Rohit Sharma had made a quick start before falling into their traps; however, Dunith Wellalage and Maheesh Theekshana wreaked the most havoc. Kohli, Pant and Parag(who is making debut) all fell victim to the spin trap as they crumbled under pressure.
Earlier in the match, Fernando scored a well-paced 96 for his team which took total to 248/7 as number three batsman Kusal Mendis (59), also contributed significantly. He started by partnering with Pathum Nissanka(45) who aided him lay foundation for that innings then Mendis came on board.
India’s bowling charge was spearheaded by Riyan Parag (3 wickets on debut) who received good support from Kuldeep Yadav. However, Indian bowlers’ inconsistency provided Sri Lankans an opportunity to rake in runs against them with Mohammed Siraj being expensive
The significance of this success cannot be understated because it is worth mentioning that Sri Lanka has not won such contests against India since nineteen ninety seven. This outcome also emphasized how difficult matches are on turning grounds where Maheesh Theekshana accepted during his postmatch interview.
“We knew they are used to small grounds and good wickets in India. So they would struggle on a big Premadasa ground. We knew we could get an advantage with some turn on the wicket, and we have good spinners,” Theekshana said after the win.
