Image Credit- AP
On a shifting Dambulla pitch, Sri Lanka’s spinners tore through the West Indies batting line, levelling the series at one apiece as they went on to win the second Twenty20 international by an innings.
The best bowler was rookie Dunith Wellalage, who was making his T20I debut after a delay. He finished with figures of 3 for 9, while Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Charith Asalanka each claimed two wickets. Throughout the innings, Matheesha Pathirana was the only seamer to claim a wicket.
In the eleventh over of the chase, Hasaranga, the top spinner in Sri Lanka, delivered his first ball of the match. Perhaps the least noteworthy thing about that delivery was that he managed to get a wicket.
Even more astonishing was that the West Indies had collapsed to 39 for 6 despite his being Sri Lanka’s sixth bowler. But with the legendary off-spin stylings of, uh, Charith Asalanka, who needs Hasaranga? Yes, the Sri Lankan captain chose to introduce himself and a right-arm version of Kamindu Mendis ahead of Hasaranga with two left-hand hitters at the crease.
Asalanka had said before the match that he had hoped for more from the spinners in the first Twenty20 International, and that hope was realised in spades in the second. Even if Gudakesh Motie had turned the ball square in the opening over, the West Indies would still have been unprepared for Theekshana’s sharp-turning offbreak of 100 km/h.
The West Indies hitters executed their strategies flawlessly and outplayed Sri Lanka’s bowlers in the first Twenty20 International. Moving in the crease, utilising the depth, and stepping out made everything look good, with the final over-finish not nearly as good as it appeared.
However, Sri Lanka learnt from their mistakes and returned stronger, primarily because they had anticipated the challenges this surface would present and had Wellalage in place of pace-bowling all-rounder Chamindu Wickramasinghe.
But West Indies only had two spinners in their lineup, as if they had missed the memo. And those two, Roston Chase and Motie, did their bit, combining for just 37 off eight overs. Fabian Allen getting a shot in the championship game won’t come as a surprise.
The West Indies batsmen then appeared clueless about how to handle Sri Lanka’s variety of spin threats, deftly manipulating the circumstances in addition to deft changes in pace, line and length.