As India, the sole undefeated team, prepared to take on struggling Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium, they faced a formidable challenge. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill strode to the crease after losing the toss to the visitors.
Rohit, the skipper, assumed his position at the striker’s end, with Dilshan Madushanka leading the Sri Lankan attack. Little did anyone expect the remarkable strategy Madushanka had devised to dismiss the opposing captain and give the Lions a dream start.
On the very first ball of the innings, Kusal Mendis arranged a leg-side field, featuring the unconventional leg slip, despite Rohit’s reputation for expertly playing shots off his pads. Madushanka began with an inswinger to Rohit, who confidently dispatched it for a boundary.
With half the job done, Madushanka delivered the next ball in the same area but this time cleverly spun his fingers over it, making it deviate in the opposite direction and elude Rohit’s outside edge.
Using a cutter as early as the second ball of an innings is quite uncommon, especially when there is evident swing in the air. Rohit had anticipated an inswinger, but he misjudged the line and the ball curved past him, crashing into the top of off stump. This extraordinary delivery left the Wankhede crowd in a state of stunned silence.