TimesofIndia.com in Colombo: 1139 minutes, 722 balls, 420 runs and three hundreds. Over the last two weeks, Sonal Dinusha accumulated staggering numbers, but the time he spent at the crease will stand the test of time. It was the major reason why Sri Lanka lived to fight on Day 5 in Galle and Colombo against India. Before diving into his heroics, it’s important to note his entry points in the four innings against India to add much-needed context.90/4 and 47/4 in the first Test, followed by 122/4 and 209/4 in the second. While the scorecard makes for comfortable reading in the final essay in Colombo, the situation there was the trickiest. Sri Lanka needed to play for time — a lot of it. Two quick wickets in the next few overs meant the 25-year-old was left with just the bowlers for company. He had faced a similar situation in the previous innings, but the stakes were highest on Days 4 and 5 at the SSC, with India desperate for the remaining wickets to enforce a result.Dinusha came with a plan and stuck to it. He made time his closest ally. The support from the other end, coupled with tactical brilliance, meant India toiled for over 86 overs but still couldn’t get the result they wanted. He consumed time, scored runs and literally swept India out of the contest on the final day of the Test. The sweep and reverse-sweep were his two strongest shots in the innings that preceded the fourth-innings masterclass, but he looked in maximum control when it mattered most.Shubman Gill was aware of the sweep challenge and covered that region with constant protection for the hit on both sides of the wicket. But it was Dinusha’s smart use of footwork that left the visitors clueless throughout the day. Over 40% of his runs in the series came off sweeps, but his control stood out in Colombo. With no vicious bite from the surface and LBW and bowled becoming the least expected modes of dismissal, Dinusha feasted and became only the third batter ever to score twin hundreds in a match where his team was asked to follow on.
I thought, jeez, this guy can play. I love the way he plays Test cricket. He thinks about it. He plays to his strengths and he is a smart cricketer
Garry Kirsten
Doing it from No.6, with the tail for company, he also became the fifth overall batter to achieve the rare feat.Dinusha’s compact game, approach against both spin and pace, and stubbornness made his time against the Indian bowlers difficult throughout the series, establishing him as the best batter across both teams. The number of overs he spent batting with the tail should become an ideal template for batters operating from No.6 and below in the format, which is why his effort attracted plenty of praise from the opposition camp too.
“He (Dinusha) played really well, his defense was solid, he played some really good sweep shots. And in this match, I don’t think there was even a half-chance that he went to a fielder,” Gill said while praising the thorn in their flesh.“We thought we can get him with pace but there wasn’t enough of it on the wicket. Someone like Prasidh was consistently bowling 135-140kmph and bowling bouncers but he was able to defend. So we could see there wasn’t enough pace in the wicket to challenge him again and again,” he further added.Gill’s comments carried an undertone of helplessness, which remained the order of the day before early handshakes brought the curtains down on India’s hopes of returning with a 2-0 scoreline. Add to this the frustration of not being able to wrap up the tail quickly in either innings. Over 44 overs in the first innings and then another 90-plus in the second, Dinusha ensured India remained on the park longer than they would have liked. This storyline has continued, with minor adjustments, since Galle.
“I think it’s never easy batting at six in a team because often you come in under pressure. I saw that he really thrives in tough situations. The first time I watched him bat properly was in the first innings in the West Indies,” Gary Kirsten said in the post-match press conference.“He came in at seven and we were 110 for five and he put on a 100 with the captain (Dhananjaya de Silva).“I thought, jeez, this guy can play. I love the way he plays Test cricket. He thinks about it. He plays to his strengths and he is a smart cricketer,” added the veteran coach.There were early butterflies and nervousness in his movements in Galle, but Colombo tasted like different gravy as he gave nothing away and carried the team along in a manner only he could have. In Gill’s words, he didn’t give a “half a chance”, while coach Kirsten quickly termed it one of the “great saves of Sri Lankan Test cricket”.The approach remained uncomplicated, allowing him to become only the second batter to have four consecutive scores of 80+; Simon Katich from Australia is the only other batter to achieve the feat, back in 2017. And when he hit Gill’s first delivery for a six with the handshake formalities impending, the left-hander could well have murmured to himself — ‘keep bowling, I am seeing it like a football now’. He indeed was sighting it better than any other batter, and it wasn’t a surprise that he walked away unbeaten, unconquered and the biggest pain for Gill & Co.
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