Sri Lanka secured a historic 110-run victory against India in the third ODI, clinching their first series win against India in 27 years. Avishka Fernando’s 96 and Dunith Wellalage’s five-wicket haul were key to this remarkable triumph. Read the full match analysis.
Overview: Sri Lanka’s Dominant Performance
Sri Lanka’s cricket team did the unexpected by recording a historic victory over India to seal its first-ever ODI bilateral series against such strong opposition within a period spanning 27 years. In the third and final ODI played in the capital city of Colombo, Sri Lanka played with dominance over India and won the game with a convincing 110-run victory. Through this article, an attempt is made to highlight the highest moments, most outstanding displays, and strategic genius that made Sri Lanka a winner in this historic achievement.
The Final Battle: Blow-by-blow Account
The Sri Lankan Batting Genius: The main rally master of the innings was Avishka Fernando, who top-scored with a magnificent 96 off 102 balls. It wasn’t that his innings was a demonstration of the quality of his batsmanship, but more in terms of strategic cleverness in taking advantage of some loose Indian spilling. Fernando found the singles easily and could punish anything short of the length in laying the appropriate structures for the Sri Lankan innings. This knock, the highest in the individual totals book for the series, catalyzed the depth for the total registered by Sri Lanka.
See also: Vandersay’s Game-Changing 6-Wicket Haul that Propelled Sri Lanka to a Vital Victory Against India
Important Partnerships in Building the Total
Fernando had previously built partnerships with Nissanka and Mendis. The opening stand of 89 runs with Nissanka set the tone, while the 82-run partnership with Mendis provided the momentum for Sri Lanka to post a challenging total. The innings wasn’t all rosy for Sri Lanka, though. They suffered a mid-innings collapse, losing five wickets for only 28 runs. But thanks to Fernando’s anchoring role, Sri Lanka managed to push towards a defendable score.
A Mixed Bag: India’s Bowling
It was never going to be easy for the bowlers, and Mohammed Siraj had a day to forget as he went for runs with his joint worst figures in ODIs, conceding 78 runs while taking a solitary wicket. Siraj hardly got his length right, and with too many deliveries often falling too short or too straight, he was never going to trouble Fernando. He is known to score free-flowing, particularly on the leg side. The bright spots in an otherwise poor bowling performance were the economical spells of Shivam Dube, who conceded just nine from four overs.
Bright Spark: Riyan Parag’s Debut
India’s star bowler was debutant Riyan Parag, who was the country’s standout performer. Riyan troubled the Lankan batters with his leg-spin, which brought him three wickets: Avishka Fernando, at a time when he looked set quite well; Dunith Wellalage, who he bowled neck and crop when the delivery spun sharply, making a really good case for his prospects for a future asset in the Indian spin department.
Sri Lanka’s Bowling Dominance
Dunith Wellalage: The Chief Destroyer: Dunith Wellalage turned out to be the hero for Sri Lanka with the ball, returning career-best figures of 5 for 27 that tore through India’s famed batting line-up. It was an absolute masterstroke in the art of spin bowling while he continued to trouble the Indian batsmen, who it seemed had no answer to the spin and bounce extracted from the surface. Among the Wellalage wickets was the prized scalp of Rohit Sharma, who was caught behind attempting a sweep—the dismissal that, quite literally, dented India’s chances of reaching the target.
The Consistent Spin Threat
Wellalage was not the only spinner who hogged the limelight. Sri Lanka’s spin tandem, including but not limited to Wanindu Hasaranga and Jeffrey Vandersay, kept questioning the Indian batting line-up time and again in the series. In fact, time and again in this series, India’s fallibility to spin has been on display, with the visiting side losing nine wickets to spin in each of the three ODIs. While this series once again exposed their struggle against quality spin, an issue that captain Rohit Sharma admitted in the post-match presser,.
India’s Batting Collapse: A Story of Struggles
Brief Joy Called Rohit Sharma: Rohit Sharma was promising with his brisk 35 off 20 balls. It was attacking, as expected. He targeted the top of the order to set a strong beginning by attacking the spin threat at the very start. But his fall to Wellalage broke the ‘backbone’ of India. With Rohit back in the pavilion, India’s batting fell like nine pins under pressure.
Middle Order Fails
Apart from Rohit, only Virat Kohli, with 20, Riyan Parag, with 15, and Washington Sundar, with 30, got double-figure scores. But theirs was a far from adequate effort to chase down the total posted by Sri Lanka. The inability of the middle order to stitch partnerships or rotate the strike sealed India’s fate. Lack of application against spin was there for everyone to see as Indian batsmen fell prey time and again to the Lankan spinners.
Strategic Insights: Sri Lanka’s Road to Victory
Exploiting India’s Weaknesses: The plan was simple yet effective: milk runs from India’s known vulnerability against spin. Rich dividends had already come, as most of the Indian wickets through the series had fallen prey to the spinners. In discipline, the Sri Lankan bowlers bowled tight lines, using the conditions helpful for spin. Sharp fielding and astute captaincy have complemented this strategic focus on spin so far, ensuring that India never found a rhythm in the chase.
The Lankans cashed in on the wayward bowling of India, where especially Avishka Fernando made full use of loose stuff from Siraj and others. Anything short or wide was dispatched with glee by the batsmen from Sri Lanka, whose runs accrued quickly to be instrumental in setting a par score.
Conclusion: Historic 110-Run Victory
More than a win, the historic 110-run victory in the third ODI said it all for Sri Lanka, an outcome that boldly carried the statement of intent. After 27 years, Sri Lanka finally had a bilateral ODI series victory over India, a success to be etched in memory for a long time to come. This series exposed India’s frailties against spin and brought out Sri Lanka’s rising prowess in limited-overs cricket. In fact, this victory will remind many in the cricketing world of Sri Lanka’s potency to upset any opponent on any day.