Rendered a mere passenger at the recent 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies, Dunith Wellalage, who merely watched from the bench Sri Lanka crash out disastrously, emerged from the dark to become his country’s overnight hero in bringing down big guns India by a fantastic all-round performance with bat and ball.
It all started when Wellalage hit Sri Lanka out of trouble stroking a workmanlike 67 to a respectable score of 230 to tying the first ODI against the Indians. The significance of the left-handed Wellalage’s innings was that he rose to the occasion taking guard at lower order No.7 with Sri Lanka struggling on 101 for 5 after 26.3 overs to carrying his bat in taking the Indian attack apart clouting 7 fours and 2 sixes.
His 2 wickets for 19 in removing both Indian openers in the explosive skipper Rohit Sharma for 58 when he threatened to put India on top, and Subman Gill for 16 was Player of the Match cementing cricket gallantry by the youngster.
He was to follow it up scoring 39 in the decisive second ODI Sri Lanka won by 32 runs in contributing 39 off 35 balls in a match winning seventh-wicket partnership of 72 off 68 balls together with Kamindu Mendis who scored 40 off 44 striking 4 boundaries.
He went wicketless in his six overs when India was bowled out for 208 in 42.2 overs which was Jeffrey Vandersay’s day as the leggy ran through the Indian batting with a career best 6 for 33 havoc.
But Wellalage returned to haunt the Indians in the final crunch game by an astonishing spell of leg spin bowling reaping career best 5 for 27 that took him just 5.1 overs of black magic as Rohit Sharma and the likes of superstar Virat Kohli were snuffed out in a crashing to 138 in 26.1 overs on a slow batting track at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium chasing Sri Lanka’s 248 for 7.
Wellalage had turned the game into a mis-match as an entire country erupted in firecracker celebrations as India T20 World champions of the other day were humiliated by Sri Lanka in the longer ODI format by a historic 2-nil thrashing.
The result was a personal glory for the 21-year old Wellalage who was crowned Player of the Series as the youngster emerged a champion from the dark to taking his country out of a long ODI mess to a new aura.