India batters struggled badly against the Sri Lankan spinners in the ODI series.
Sri Lanka outclassed India in all facets of the game to register a convincing 110-run victory in the third ODI at Colombo's R. Premadasa Stadium on Wednesday (August 7). As a result, they clinched the three-match series 2-0.
Chasing 249 to win, the tourists were bowled out for 138 in 26.1 overs, with no batter managing to touch the 40-run mark.
Sri Lanka’s spin trio of Dunith Wellalage (5/27 in his 5.1 overs), Jeffrey Vandersay (2/34 in 5 overs), Maheesh Theekshana (2/45 in 8 overs) ran through the Indian batting order, sharing nine wickets among them.
Reflecting on the series win, Theekshana highlighted the advantage his team held on the turning tracks of Premadasa Stadium.
"They (India) usually play on good wickets and small boundaries in India. We knew playing in Premadasa, if there's a little bit of turn, we can take advantage because we have good spinners," Theekshana said after the third ODI.
Unlike the Indian batters, Sri Lankans countered the challenges effectively, having been familiar with such conditions from domestic cricket.
"Even in domestic, the wickets are like this and our batters know how to play," Theekshana added.
This was Sri Lanka’s first ODI series win over India since 1997. No wonder, the team was elated, especially after losing the T20I series 3-0 to India.
"For me, it's a confidence-booster as a team. We lost the T20 series 3-0. The whole team was disappointed and we took it as motivation. Very happy to play the last game and win the series after 1997. It's a huge victory for us and I am really proud to be part of the XI," Theekshana expressed.
In the first two ODIs, India were in the game for the major part but Sri Lanka were dominant from the outset in the final match.
"When we were batting first, we thought the wicket would be much better than the first two matches. We had to bowl more good deliveries than the last couple of matches. Rohit came into bat and attacked me, Asitha got a good start, came back and got Shubman, and then Wellalage was brilliant, Vandersay did a great job... Hasaranga in the first game, Akila bowled economically in both games. I wanted to bowl more dot balls. It was a team effort. All the players contributed, that's why we ended up winning 2-0," Theekshana elaborated.
This historic series win is expected to bolster Sri Lanka's confidence ahead of the future international assignments.
(With TOI Inputs)