What's common between Keshav Maharaj, Mitchell Santner, Shakib Al Hasan, Ashton Agar and Dunith Wellalage? All of them are slow left-arm orthodox spinners. And all of them have dismissed Indian legend Virat Kohli in ODIs since 2021. Maharaj, Santner and Shakib have got Kohli out twice.
His dismissal to Wellalage in India's Asia Cup Super Four clash against Sri Lanka on a dry and bald R Premadasa Stadium pitch was the eighth time he had fallen to left-arm spin in 28 matches since January 2021.
He has scored only 104 runs against that type of bowling having faced 159 balls, 79 of them dots. He averages just 13 against left-arm spin since 2021 and has a strike-rate of 65.4.
After his heroics against Pakistan on the adjacent pitch on Monday which had an even grass covering and was skidding on to the bat, Kohli found the going tough against Sri Lanka on a pitch that was offering grip, uneven bounce, and sharp turn. It seemed like Day Three of a Test in Indore.
Wellalage, who led Sri Lanka Under-19 in the World Cup in the West Indies, last March, had sent back Shubman Gill off the first ball he had bowled. He then produced a leading edge off Kohli first ball. Next ball, a flick gave the Indian star two runs. The forward lunge and hard hands, a no no on a pitch that is offering sharp turn though would have got the young Lankan interested.
With extra fielders inside the circle, Kohli found it tough to rotate the strike against Wellalage, who was bowling it flat and quick and was also getting purchase. The fact that he is a reluctant sweeper and doesn't employ the slog sweep, also plays into the hands of the bowler, when he is on top, as there are few release shots.
With dots piling up, he perished while trying to whip a short of good length delivery past mid-wicket, but with the ball holding up, he hit it in the air to Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka and was out for 3. It was a soft dismissal, but one has seen him get out like that in Paarl to Maharaj, although he was caught on the off-side, and to Shakib in Mirpur.
The cheap dismissal ended Kohli's golden run of four successive hundreds at the Premadasa. While that won't worry him much, the fact that sides often employ left-arm spin the moment they see him stride out, even in the IPL, would get him thinking.
India's next game is against Bangladesh at the Premadasa on Friday and bowlers like Shakib would consider themselves to be in business again when they come up against Kohli. Bear in mind, India play Australia in Chennai in the first match of the World Cup. Chepauk often is a loyal friend of spin. Ask Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar and how they strangled India in March there.
1/10:Asia Cup: India beat Sri Lanka to reach final
AFP
2/10:India in final
<p>Kuldeep Yadav starred as India overcame a brilliant all-round effort from Sri Lanka's Dunith Wellalage to win a tense Asia Cup clash by 41 runs on Tuesday and book a place in the final. </p>AFP
3/10:Kuldeep Yadav
<p>Kuldeep took four wickets including the final two as India defended 213, bowling out Sri Lanka for 172 to silence a large home crowd at Colombo's R. Premadasa Stadium. </p>AFP
4/10:2nd straight Super 4 win
<p>India recorded their second straight Super Four win in the 50-over tournament and ended Sri Lanka's 13-match winning streak in ODIs. </p>AFP
5/10:Sri Lanka all out
<p>Wellalage, who claimed his maiden ODI five-wicket haul, remained unbeaten on 42 when he ran out of partners as Kuldeep wrapped up the SL tail in 41.3 overs. </p>AP
6/10:Rohit Sharma
<p>Rohit Sharma entered an elite list of players with over 10,000 ODI runs and hit his second successive fifty for a brisk start but Wellalage hit back. </p>Getty Images
7/10:Dunith Wellalage
<p>Dunith Wellalage returned figures of 5-40 including the wickets of Rohit and Virat Kohli with strong support from Charith Asalanka, who claimed 4/18. </p>AP
8/10:Spin sensation
<p>Wellalage struck with his first ball of the match when he bowled Shubman Gill for 19 and there was no looking back for the young spinner. </p>AFP
9/10:3 wickets in 3 overs
<p>Wellalage made the home fans erupt with the wicket of Kohli (3) and Rohit was also bowled by Wellalage who snared his third scalp in three overs. </p>AFP
10/10:Vital stand
<p>Ishan Kishan, who made 33, and previous-match centurion KL Rahul attempted to rebuild the innings with a stand of 63. </p>AFPKohli has been ahead of the game for much of the time and as he enters the home stretch of a decorated career, may be the challenge of finding a quick solution to reverse the trend of him being troubled by left-arm finger spin, would add another layer to his competitive streak.
