Sonal Dinusha, in the ongoing Test series, has proved to be a thorn in India’s side. Four innings, three centuries and one 16 short of a century are extraordinary numbers for any batsman. He has played under pressure for the largest part. In the first Test at Galle, the Sri Lankan batsman got scores of 100 and 84 to frustrate the Indians not a little.
In the second Test, which is currently underway, he is standing in India’s way of a second successive Test win. Yesterday, when Sri Lanka, following on, finished day four on 229/6, it was all over bar the shouting for them but on Thursday, Dinusha has dug deep and at the time of writing this article was unbeaten on 100 in the final session with the hosts leading by 173 runs with two wickets in hand.
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Rajeev Shukla, although he is an administrator, has been in the cricket scene for a long time and has seen many a cricketer reach great heights. Currently, the vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Shukla, believes that Dinusha looks like India legend Sachin Tendulkar.
“This Sonal of Sri Lanka is an amazing player. Looking like Tendulkar. Can be a wonderful Test player in international cricket,” Shukla wrote on X.
The ongoing Test in Colombo is Dinusha’s just fifth Test, and he is really making waves. The only difference is that when Tendulkar debuted for India, he was already a much-hyped player, while as far as Dinusha is concerned, nobody was talking about him prior to the Test matches. Plus, Tendulkar was just 16 when he made his Test debut. And of course, he was right-handed, unlike Dinusha. Be that as it may, the 25-year-old Dinusha is the toast of the town at present. He has been so good that even a cricket administrator like Shukla couldn’t help but post something nice about him. Wait, not just something nice, but actually bringing up the comparisons with Tendulkar. There can’t be a greater compliment for an up-and-coming cricketer.
Dinusha has been particularly very good with sweep shots. Any player who is good at sweep shots can nullify spinners a great deal. Manav Suthar, Kuldeep Yadav, Saransh Jain, Ravindra Jadeja, all struggled against him. Plus, he has a solid temperament. The series against India is a great kick-start for sure, but whether or not he can be as successful as Tendulkar, only time will tell.
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