Charith Asalanka began his stint as the full-time ODI captain of the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team in the first One Day International of the three-match series against the Indian National Cricket Team on Friday, August 2 at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.
Charith Asalanka was appointed as Sri Lanka’s new T20I captain ahead of the India series as Wanindu Hasaranga had stepped down from the post following the 2024 T20 World Cup debacle. Asalanka getting the captaincy in the shortest format did not come as a surprise as he was the front-runner for the job.
However, when Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced the ODI squad for the India series and named Asalanka as the captain, it came as a surprise to many as Kusal Mendis was appointed as the full-time ODI captain only in December 2023 after leading the team in a few matches at the ICC World Cup 2023 in an interim capacity.
Mendis led the Sri Lanka Lions to 6 wins from 8 completed ODIs and despite that, he was removed from the post by the selection committee. Also, under his leadership, Sri Lanka had won five consecutive home matches against Afghanistan and Zimbabwe but lost an away series against Bangladesh by 2-1.
Meanwhile, the hosts entered the ODI series after being trounced in the T20I series, including a comical yet horrific loss in the last game. Not only that, they lost some key players due to injury or illness-related issues ahead of the ODI series.
In the evening, the situation changed. With the lights on, it became easier to hit – Charith Asalanka
Sri Lanka, who won the toss and opted to bat first in the first match of the ODI series, posted a decent total of 230/8 on the board despite being 101/5 at one stage. It was young Dunith Wellalage who played a key role with his 67-run knock to help the hosts post a competitive score.
With the ball, Sri Lanka got off to a poor start as the bowlers were dismissed by Rohit Sharma. However, they made a good comeback in the middle overs and reduced the Men In Blue to 132/5 in 25 overs. Then, KL Rahul and Axar Patel put the Lankan Lions under pressure with their 57-run partnership, but the hosts made a good comeback by removing Rahul and Axar in consecutive overs. In the end, Charith Asalanka dismissed Shivam Dube and Arshdeep Singh in consecutive deliveries to bowl India out for 230, and the match ended in a draw.
At the post-match presentation ceremony, Charith Asalanka said she was confident her team would defend their record. Charith Asalanka said:
“I thought (we could defend the total), but we should have done a bit more to restrict them to less than 230.
Charith Asalanka also rejected Rohit Sharma’s comments that the pitch remained the same for both teams throughout the match and claimed that they batted in a tougher situation compared to India, who found it easy under the lights. Charith Asalanka explained:
“In the afternoon, the ball spun more. Under the lights, it became easier to hit. (Bowling himself) The left-hander came in to bat and I thought I could bowl because the ball spun so much. I’m happy with the energy on the field and the way the boys played in the second half. Dunith hit and Nissanka batted extremely well.”
The second match of the series between the Indian National Cricket Team and the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team will be played on Sunday, August 4 at the same venue in Colombo.
