"You don't see such bowlers being this successful in Sri Lanka" - Gautam Gambhir lauds Dunith Wellalage's spell in IND vs SL Asia Cup Super 4 clash

Gautam Gambhir has lauded Dunith Wellalage for bowling a penetrative spell in the Asia Cup 2023 Super Four clash between India and Sri Lanka despite not having too many variations in his armory.

Wellalage registered figures of 5/40 in 10 overs as the Lankan Lions bowled out Rohit Sharma and Co. for 213 in Colombo on Tuesday, September 12. However, the Men in Blue bounced back to bundle out the hosts for 172 to complete a 41-run win and book a berth in the final.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Gambhir was asked about his thoughts on an orthodox finger-spinner like Dunith Wellalage bamboozling the Indian batters, to which he responded:

"Actually, you don't see such bowlers being this successful in Sri Lanka. If you see Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan, they had a lot of variations. A bowler like this has come after Rangana Herath. See the batters he dismissed - Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya."

The former Indian opener highlighted that the left-arm spinner deceived most of the batters when they weren't even trying to attack him. He observed:

"Think about the level of batters they are. He dismissed many batters when they were defending. It's not they got dismissed while trying to hit sixes or against half-trackers. If you get three batters out while defending, it is a great sign for Sri Lankan cricket."

Wellalage castled Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma, and had Hardik Pandya caught behind. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul offered tame catches to short midwicket and the bowler respectively after they were deceived by deliveries that came slowly off the surface.

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"How will you drop him from the squad now?" - Gautam Gambhir on Dunith Wellalage's all-round performance

While observing that Dunith Wellalage might not have been in the Sri Lankan squad had Wanindu Hasaranga been fit and available, Gautam Gambhir praised the former's performance under pressure with the bat as well. He said:

"The surprising thing is that if Hasaranga had been fit, he (Wellalage) might have not even been in the squad. How will you drop him from the squad now? It was amazing bowling and for me, more than bowling, amazing batting as well, the sort of cricketer he looked under pressure."

The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by observing that the youngster couldn't have had a better outing against a formidable team like India. He elaborated:

"Don't forget that he took an exceptional catch as well. Ishan Kishan's catch was not very easy. Overall, there couldn't have been a better game for any 20-year-old player against such a team, where you pick up five wickets, score 42 runs and take an excellent catch."

Wellalage walked out to bat when Sri Lanka were in dire straits at 99/6 in the 26th over. He scored an unbeaten 42 off 46 deliveries and added 63 runs for the seventh wicket with Dhananjaya de Silva to raise hopes of a Lankan win before the latter's dismissal led to a lower-order collapse.