Sri Lanka's leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay dominated India's batting lineup with an impressive six-wicket haul in a maiden one-day international, leading his team to a 32-run victory in the second match of the three-match series in Colombo on Sunday.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat, Sri Lanka faced difficulties against seamer Mohammed Siraj, who removed opener Pathum Nissanka with the first ball. However, Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis stabilized the innings with a 74-run partnership. Despite regular losses, lower-order batters Dunith Wellalage (39) and Kamindu Mendis (40) contributed significantly, helping Sri Lanka post a total of 240-9.
India's pursuit began strongly with captain Rohit Sharma scoring 64 runs off 44 balls before being dismissed by the 34-year-old Vandersay. Sri Lanka effectively defended their total, bowling India out for 208 in 42.2 overs. Key Indian players like Shubman Gill (35), Virat Kohli (14), and Shreyas Iyer (7) were dismissed early, while Shivam Dube and KL Rahul fell for golden ducks. All-rounder Axar Patel scored 44 runs, but Sri Lanka's disciplined fielding and bowling, including skipper Charith Asalanka's three wickets, secured the win for the hosts.
Rohit Sharma acknowledged the team's inconsistency, saying, "If you want to win games, we do understand that you have to play consistent cricket and we failed to do that today. A little disappointing, but these things happen." He praised Vandersay's performance, noting that Sri Lanka played better cricket overall.
Captain Asalanka expressed his satisfaction with Vandersay's performance, who replaced the injured all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga in the squad. "As a captain, these kinds of problems I need to have. I think it was an unbelievable spell by him," Asalanka said.
With the first ODI ending in a tie, Sri Lanka aims to secure the series in the final match at the same venue on Wednesday.
