Colombo: One man’s misfortune turned another’s opportunity, and how spectacularly Jeffrey Vandersay capitalised on that. Until Saturday night, the 34-year-old leg-spinner was not even in Sri Lanka’s 15 for the One-Day International series against India. Twenty-four hours later, he was the toast of the nation with sensational figures of six for 33, bowling the hosts to their first victory over India in more than three years, by 32 runs.
Vandersay’s inclusion in the squad, and the XI, owed itself to the hamstring injury senior leggie Wanindu Hasaranga sustained in Friday’s first ODI, also at the R Premadasa Stadium. Responding to the late call-up in a fashion that went beyond the wildest hope of interim coach Sanath Jayasuriya, Vandersay ran rings around India’s celebrated batting unit in a memorable display of leg-spin and googly bowling.
For the first seven-tenths, this game remarkably mirrored the first ODI. After Charith Asalanka won the toss, Sri Lanka rallied from the first-ball loss of Pathum Nissanka to add 74 for the second wicket through Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis, but India worked their way into the contest through their spinners, primarily Washington Sundar, to leave the hosts gasping at 136 for six.Dunith Wellalage again rode to their rescue, this time with Kamindu Mendis for company. Together, the left-handers first repelled India’s charge and then got on top of the bowling during an alliance of 72, on the back of which the islanders posted 240 for nine, 79 coming in the final 10 overs.
Rohit Sharma got India off to a customary blazing start on a surface only marginally better for batting than the one two strips away that was used on Friday. The skipper was unstoppable, fours and sixes flying off his bat with Shubman Gill an admiring but not mute spectator at the other end.
In full flight after reaching 50 off 29 deliveries, the skipper was hampered by a seeming hamstring injury for which he received lengthy treatment. He fell not long afterwards to the first of several exceptional catches, Nissanka setting the tone by running to his right from short third-man to snaffle the aerial reverse-sweep.
From 97 without loss, India slid to 147 for six in the bat of an eyelid. Vandersay didn’t do anything flash, just maintaining his disciplines, allowing the surface to do the rest and feasting on India’s tentativeness. The leg before was the preferred mode of dismissal with Virat Kohli, the promoted Shivam Dube and Shreyas Iyer all perishing in that manner, after Gill was taken by a flying Kamindu at slip as he edged a booming drive off Vandersay.
The writing was on the wall when Washington joined Axar. Like Sri Lanka’s two left-handers earlier, but on a more responsive surface against spinners with their tails up, the two staged a brief rescue act, Axar looking in command until Asalanka took a smart return catch. That was pretty much it, Arshdeep Singh rounding off a poor night in office by running himself out to end India’s misery at 208.
With one match to play on Wednesday, a resurgent Sri Lanka sit on a 1-0 lead.