Pathirana made his debut in IPL for CSK.
CSK included N Jagadeesan, Prashant Solanki, Mitchell Santner, and Matheesha Pathirana in place of Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa, Dwayne Bravo, and Maheesh Theekshana. Gujarat Titans went in unchanged.
The CSK batters couldn’t get going despite getting in. While Devon Conway was out for 5, Ruturaj Gaikwad made 53 in 49 balls, Moeen Ali made 21 in 17 balls and N Jagadeesan remained unbeaten on 39 in 33 balls as the four-time champions managed to put 133/5 in 20 overs.
Mohammad Shami picked two wickets for GT.
In reply, Wriddhiman Saha gave a good start to GT as they added 59 runs in 7 overs. Then MS Dhoni introduced Sri Lanka’s teenage bowling sensation Matheesha Pathirana, who is known for his bowling action, which is very slingy and similar to legend Lasith Malinga.
Pathirana made an instant impact as he dismissed Shubman Gill LBW for 18 runs on the first ball of his IPL debut and despite Gill taking the DRS, he was found to be out.
Later on, he also got the wicket on the first ball of his second over, as he sent back GT captain Hardik Pandya to the dugout for 7 runs.
Here is the video of the dismissal: