After Sri Lanka lost to India in the Asia Cup 2023, Lasith Malinga made a provocative statement.
Both cricket analysts and fans were impressed by teenage spinner Dunith Wellalage as the Indian cricket team advanced to the Asia Cup 2023 final with a victory against Sri Lanka. He got five wickets, three of which were stars (Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma), and then played a dogged innings of 42 runs off of 46 balls as his team came close to winning. Despite his defeat, Wellalage was praised highly by Sri Lanka’s great pacer Lasith Malinga.
Malinga moved to social media to praise Wellalage’s all-around performance, claiming that Sri Lanka looked like they had 12 players on the pitch. He also said that Wellalage has future superstar potential.
You could say that SL had 12 players today. Malinga said on X (formerly Twitter) that this proved how talented Dunith was. In addition to his many talents, he also possesses a sharp mind for his age. In my opinion, he will be Sri Lanka’s most valuable player in one-day internationals for the foreseeable future.
As a batsman, I rank Virat Kohli first. I’m overjoyed to have taken the key wickets of Kohli and Rohit. “I trust my basics and I trust myself,” Wellalage remarked in the postgame press conference.
The young bowler, who said he was only 20, claimed he was attempting to bowl a tight line and length to the more seasoned batters.
India’s batting lineup was ready, and the team was off to a great start. Just bowled wicket-to-wicket as best I could. Getting those three wickets in three overs really put the pressure on India.
When the ball was pitched in the ideal spot, it turned and rattled the batsmen. But a victory would have made me happier,” Wellalage said.
