India display all-round show to outplay hosts Sri Lanka

India started both their batting and bowling stints against Sri Lanka on a rousing note but the hosts fought back brilliantly in both disciplines at the R Premadasa Stadium on TuesdayPlaying for the third day in a row India showed no signs of physical or mental fatigue during the early stages of their Asia Cup Super 4 encounter against the hosts but once Shubman Gill was dismissed after a roaring 80run alliance with his captain Rohit Sharma they were choked by the assortment of SriLankarsquos spinnersWellage 42 not outDunith Wellalage led the way for Sri Lanka with his maiden fifer then followed it up with a beautifully crafted unbeaten 42 but that wasnrsquot enough to prevent India coming through by 41 runs to seal their place in the final Chasing Indiarsquos 213 Sri Lanka were bowled out for 172 with eightandahalf overs to sparePlenty will be heard of Wellalage who led Sri Lanka at the Under19 World Cup in the West Indies in January last year in future The 20yearold showed great smarts and control not getting carried away by the assistance he received from the pitch sticking to his disciplines and feeding on the uncertainty of the batsmenHe evicted Gill with a peach with his first delivery a ripper that drifted in pitched on middle and leg gripped and turned to hit off It was the first indication of what was to come Virat Kohli fresh off a century against Pakistan perished in the little leftarm spinnerrsquos next over before Rohit who had smashed the pacers to smithereens became Wellalagersquos third victim in as many overs bowled off a delivery that kept lowAlso Read Rohit Sharma becomes sixth Indian to amass 10000 ODI runsFrom 80 without loss India had slumped to 91 for three and though Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul stemmed the rot with a partnership of 63 that was all India had to show during the second half of their inningsIndian batting crumblesFrom 154 for three they were shot out for 213 Wellalage finished with five for 40 while his predecessor as national Under19 skipper Charith Asalanka picked up for four 18 with his very occasional offspinRain interrupted Indiarsquos innings after 47 overs and a little dampness and the fact that the covers had been on for nearly 45 minutes took some of the spin demons out of the pitch Rohit trusted his pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj to do the job and they didnrsquot disappoint reducing the Lankans to 25 for three Kuldeep Yadav then got into the act with two crucial sticks to leave the hosts floundering at 99 for six their hopes again resting on the slender shoulders of Wellalege and the more experienced head of Dhananjaya de SilvaBit by painstaking bit they repelled India through commonsense batting No praise can be too high for the composure Wellalage in particular displayedNear full houseA near full house cheered every run until de Silva clubbed Ravindra Jadeja to midon after a stand of 63 India sensed the moment and homed in for the kill Wellalage stranded as the tail was lopped off in a trice80The opening stand by Indiarsquos Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill in 11 overs540SL leftarm spinner Dunith Wellagersquos match figuresBrief scoresIndia 213 all out in 491 overs R Sharma 53 KL Rahul 39 D Wellalage 540 C Asalanka 418 beat Sri Lanka 172 all out in 413 overs D Wellalage 42 De Silva 41 K Yadav 443 Jasprit Bumrah 230 Ravindra Jadeja 233 by 41 runs