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August 3, 2024
Dunith Wellalage delivered a standout all-round performance in a tense ODI match at Khettarama. At just 21, he showcased his skills with both bat and ball.
Batting at No. 7, Wellalage scored a crucial 67 not out from 65 balls, helping Sri Lanka reach 230 for 8. In the field, his left-arm spin was effective as he took 2 wickets for 39 runs in 9 overs. One of his key dismissals was Rohit Sharma, India’s top batter for the day. This effort helped Sri Lanka secure a tie in the match.
Wellalage, who came in at 101 for 5 in the 27th over, looked the most composed batter on a challenging pitch, even hitting some powerful boundaries towards the end. He drew inspiration from his teammate Pathum Nissanka, who had been Sri Lanka’s standout batter of the tour, including scoring another fifty in a recent game.
“They have a lot of experienced bowlers, so the more we can limit our mistakes, the more we can put pressure on them,” Wellalage said of his thinking during his innings. “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 made a crucial impact. Rohit Sharma was close to making the chase look easy, having reached 50 off just 33 balls. But in the 15th over, Wellalage outwitted him with a well-flighted delivery, trapping him leg before wicket as Rohit tried to sweep. This ended Rohit’s innings at 58 off 47 balls.
Earlier, Wellalage had also dismissed Shubman Gill with another clever delivery. Gill top-edged a shot high, allowing the wicketkeeper to catch it. Notably, Wellalage was the first spinner brought into the attack during the powerplay.
“We knew that the wicket was spinning. So Charith Asalanka had told me that I would be bowling in the powerplay. I had good support from the wicket too.
“With Rohit at the time, I was trying just to bowl wicket-to-wicket, because I knew how much assistance there was from the pitch.”
In the middle to later overs, Wanindu Hasaranga and Asalanka took charge, according to Wellalage. Each bowler picked up three wickets, with Asalanka sealing the game by taking two wickets in the 48th over when the match was already tied. He also dismissed Axar Patel, who was caught behind.
Earlier, Hasaranga had made significant contributions by getting rid of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Kuldeep Yadav.
“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.”
In the inaugural Delhi Premier League (DPL) player draft held on Friday, several key players were selected. Shweta Sehrawat, a standout batter and former vice-captain of India’s Under-19 Women’s T20 team, was the top pick for the South Delhi Superstars. Priya Punia, who made her ODI comeback this year, was picked up by the East Delhi Riders.
Among the notable picks in the men’s draft were Rishabh Pant and Ishant Sharma, chosen by Purani Dilli 6, and Ayush Badoni, selected by South Delhi Superstars. North Delhi Strikers secured Harshit Rana, who had a strong IPL 2024 season with Kolkata Knight Riders and received his first ODI call-up. Rana’s team also picked up spinner Suyash Sharma and all-rounder Kshitiz Sharma. Central Delhi Kings drafted former India Under-19 captain Yash Dhull and legspinner Prince Choudhary.
Fast bowler Mayank Yadav, who impressed for Lucknow Super Giants but was injured, was notably absent from the draft. For East Delhi Riders, wicketkeeper Anuj Rawat and fast bowler Simarjeet Singh were early picks. West Delhi Lions chose fast bowler Navdeep Saini and former Mumbai Indians spinner Hrithik Shokeen.
In the women’s draft, Central Delhi Queens selected wicketkeeper Laxmi Yadav, previously with UP Warriorz in the Women’s Premier League, while North Delhi Strikers picked hard-hitter Ayushi Soni and seamer Soni Yadav.
The inaugural DPL will run from August 17 to September 8, 2024, with all matches at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The men’s competition will feature 33 games, and the women’s competition will have seven matches.
South Delhi Superstars: Ayush Badoni, Kuldip Yadav, Priyansh Arya, Sumit Mathur, Divij Mehra, Kunwar Bidhuri, Digvesh Rathi, Tejaswi Dahiya, Raghav Singh, Saurabh Deswal, Sarthak Ray, Lakshay Sehrawat, Tarun Bisht, Shubham Dubey, Vision Panchal, Dhruv Singh, Mayank Gupta, Anshuman Hooda, Anindo Naharay, Deepanshu Gulia
East Delhi Riders: Anuj Rawat, Simarjeet Singh, Himmat Singh, Himanshu Chauhan, Harsh Tyagi, Vaibhav Sharma, Mayank Rawat, Samarth Seth, Pranav Pant, Sujal Singh, Hardik Sharma, Raunak Waghela, Agrim Sharma, Shantanu Yadav, Bhagwan Singh, Ansh Choudhary, Sagar Khatri, Shivam Kumar Tripathi, Rishabh Rana, Lakshaya Sangwan
Central Delhi Kings: Yash Dhull, Prince Choudhary, Hiten Dalal, Jonty Sidhu, Lakshay Thareja, Yogesh Sharma, Money Grewar, Keshav Dabas, Shaurya Malik, Saurav Dagar, Aryan Rana, Siddhant Bansal, Rajneesh Dadar, Sumit Kumar, Kaushal Suman, Deepesh Balyan, Vishant Bhati, Dhruv Kaushik, Ajay Gulia
North Delhi Strikers: Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Pranshu Vijayran, Vaibhav Kandpal, Kshitiz Sharma, Vaibhav Rawal, Yash Dabas, Pranav Rajvanshi, Manan Bhardwaj, Yash Bhatia, Yatish Singh, Aman Bharti, Yajas Sharma, Sarthak Ranjan, Anirudh Choudhary, Shivam, Yatharth Singh, Sidhhartha Solanki, Dhruv Chauhan, Yuvraj Rathi
West Delhi Lions: Hrithik Shokeen, Navdeep Saini, Dev Lakra, Deepak Punia, Shivank Vashisth, Akhil Chaudhary, Ayush Doseja, Krish Yadav, Anmol Sharma, Yugal Saini, Ankit Rajesh Kumar, Vivek Yadav, Aryan Dalal, Masab Alam, Ekansh Dobal, Shivam Gupta, Yogesh Kumar, Suryakant Chauhan, Tishant Dabla, Abrahim Ahmad Masoodi
Purani Dilli 6: Lalit Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Arpit Rana, Shivam Sharma, Prince Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Mayank Gusain, Sanat Sangwan, Ankit Bhadana, Yug Gupta, Keshav Dalal, Ayush Singh, Kush Nagpal, Sumit Chhikara, Arnav Bugga, Vansh Bedi, Manjeet, Yash Bhardawaj, Sambhav Sharma, Laxman
South Delhi Superstars: Shweta Sehrawat, Medhavi Bidhuri, Tanisha Singh, Ekta Bhadana, Manju Godara, Sumiti Soni, Nishika Singh, Nidhi Mahto, Riya Soni, R Priyadarshini, Mitali, Aarti Kumari, Anshu Nagar, Shivani Yadav, Vrinda, Chelcy Yadav, Neha Puri, Chhavi Gupta
East Delhi Riders: Priya Punia, Priya Mishra, Pratika Rawal, Madhu, Mallika Khatri, Pragya Rawat, Kashish, Saachi, Vanshika Lila, Ishika, Nilanchal Nerwal, Priya Gaur, Shivani, Jyoshi Nain, Ashmeet Kaur, Shreya Sharma, Himanshi Rai, Anushka Singh
Central Delhi Queens: Laxmi Yadav, Parunika Sisodia, Mayuri Singh, Ria Sharma, Vandana Chaturvedi, Shivi Sharma, Mahi Chauhan, Deeksha Sharma, Meenakshi Vashishat, Armeet Kaur, Akanshi Singh, Mitali R, Neha Chillar, Sonia, Rishika, Taniska Rana, Aujasvie, Chanchal
North Delhi Strikers: Soni Yadav, Ayushi Soni, Nazma, Bharti Rawal, Riti Tomar, Riya Shokeen, Monika, Antra Sharma, Riya Kondal, Upasana Yadav, Goyinka Sharma, Mansi Sharma, Urvashi Gupta, Reshika Beniwal, Kritika Gaghda, Sonia Lohia, Aashi Saxena, Sonia Khatri
Katarzyna Nowak is a seasoned writer with over five years of experience in editorial content, news reporting, and cricket sportsbook app reviews. As an author for IPLWin365 (IPL365 News), she combines her deep understanding of the sports betting industry with a passion for cricket, delivering insightful and accurate content that keeps readers informed and engaged.
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