Virat Kohli during the India vs Sri Lanka match in the 2023 Asia Cup© AFP
Virat Kohli was unable to score much in India’s Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 match against Sri Lanka on Tuesday and his dismissal exposed yet another worrying trend when it comes to the star player versus orthodox left-arm spinners. Kohli could score just three runs before he was finned by Dunith Wellalage as the ball stopped on its way to the bat and he only managed to mistime the ball straight to Dasun Shanaka. Kohli’s dismissal by Wellalage was just a reminder of his difficult spell against the left-handed orthodox player in the ODI format since 2021. After facing 159 deliveries, the Indian batsman has scored 104 runs at an average of 13 and a strike rate of 65.4.
The shot he fell on Tuesday was reminiscent of his dismissal on previous eight occasions due to left arm rotation.
However, Kohli wasn’t Wellalage’s only victim on the night. The 20-year-old spinner secured his maiden 5-wicket haul, single-handedly dismantling a formidable Indian batting line-up and bagging the prized wickets of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya.
He provided Sri Lanka with much-needed breakthroughs, dismissing Shubman Gill for 19. Gill was completely confused by the spin as the ball rattled off his stump. After picking up Kohli’s wicket, Wellalage struck three more times.
Captain Rohit was bamboozled by a left-arm ripper and ended up clean-bowled for 53.
He picked up his fourth wicket of the match after removing KL Rahul and brought up his maiden five-wicket haul after scalping all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
(With ANI inputs)
Topics mentioned in this article
