07th August, 2024, is surely a day Riyan Parag will remember for ages. And itās not only for his ODI debut for the Indian Cricket Team against Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo but also for the three wickets he took in the eight overs he bowled.
Skipper Shows Faith
Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat. Indiaās skipper, Rohit Sharma soon handed over the ball to Riyan Parag. And he lived up to the skipperās expectations. Parag, the 256th player to represent India in ODIās spun a web and trapped Avishka Fernando (96 off 102), Charith Asalanka (10 off 12) and Dunith Wellalage (2 off 3).
Parag’s First ODI Wicket
Avishka Fernando was thoroughly overdue a deserved hundred, on 96 from 102 balls, 9 fours and 2 sixes, but then stepped Riyan Parag and everything had to change: he dismissed Fernando when he was only 4 runs from the magic figureābreaking an important partnership in the process.
Parag Traps The Opposition Captain
Parag wasn’t done yet. The very next over, he trapped the Sri Lankan skipper Charith Asalanka leg-before-wicket. After a bit of consultation with Kusal Mendis, Asalanka decided to review the decision. UltraEdge confirmed there was no bat involved, while HawkEye lights showed three reds, thus sealing Asalanka’s fate on 10 runs off 12 balls.
A 3 Wicket Haul On Debut
Next in to bat was Dunith Wellalage, who was in dangerous form in the previous couple of games. However, Parag was unstoppable, clean bowling Wellalage with just 2 runs off 3 balls.
Riyan Parag, who usually plays as a batting all-rounder has not only delivered with the ball in the 3rd ODI against Sri Lanka but also was one of the key members in the bowling unit while undoing the Sri Lankan batters in the recent T20I series. Well if Parag keeps on delivering the goods with the ball, it wouldn’t beĀ surprising to call it a āReverse Steve Smith Phenomenon.ā
The Sportz Planet Desk,
Atharva Shetye
