From Muttiah Muralitharan to Rangana Herath to Wanindu Hasaranga, Sri Lanka have been blessed with quality spinners over the years and just like that, Dunith Wellalage has emerged as another young gun with the potential to touch the sky with his art.
Wellalage, 20, was roped in by Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023 squad as Hasaranga's replacement — who was ruled out due to a shoulder injury — and the youngster did not waste the opportunity to showcase his talent.
The 20-year-old now makes a strong case for Sri Lanka's World Cup 2023 squad with his constant performance in the Asia Cup.
The left-arm spinner took a fifer against India on Tuesday in an important Super Four clash and reminded the cricketing circles once again that Sri Lanka have no shortage of quality spinners.
The Blues were cruising 80-0 before Wellalage put on a show and ended India's dream to put another big total on the scoreboard.
His dream display with the ball included the wickets of Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul.
From fans to professionals, no one could refrain from praising the youngster as he bamboozled India's batting order. They also emphasised the importance of having a left-arm spinner.
Here is how fans and analysts on X, formerly Twitter, reacted
Earlier today, India won the toss and decided to bat first.
The Blues were 197/9 at the end of 47 overs by the time rain stopped play.
Lineups
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (c), Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana.
Both teams have won their first game of the Super 4. Sri Lanka defeated Bangladesh by 21 runs while India outclassed Pakistan by 228 runs.
