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On Wednesday (August 7), India endured a crushing 110-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the third and final ODI of their three-match series. Played at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, the top-ranked ODI team, India, fell short with just 138 runs in response to Sri Lanka’s 248. Despite Rohit Sharma’s best efforts, scoring 35 off 20 balls, it wasn’t enough to turn the tide, resulting in a clean sweep for Sri Lanka.

This loss marks Rohit Sharma’s unfortunate addition to a rare list. At 37, he becomes only the third Indian captain to lose an ODI bilateral series to Sri Lanka. Mohammad Azharuddin was the first, overseeing a 1-2 defeat in 1993. Sachin Tendulkar followed with a series loss of 0-3 in 1997, and now Rohit Sharma joins this less-than-ideal company.

Since 1997, India had maintained an unbroken streak of winning bilateral ODI series against Sri Lanka, but that run came to an end on Wednesday. Despite drawing the first ODI on August 2 and facing a 32-run defeat in the second ODI on August 4, India required a victory in the final match to prevent a series loss. However, Rohit Sharma’s team fell short of that goal.

The 21-year-old spin-bowling all-rounder Dunith Wellalage delivered a remarkable performance by taking five wickets for 27 runs in 5.1 overs, playing a pivotal role in Charith Asalanka’s historic win. Wellalage claimed the key wickets of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer, and Kuldeep Yadav.

This five-wicket haul also made Wellalage the first Sri Lankan to achieve two five-wicket hauls in ODIs against India. Prior to his standout performance in the third ODI, Wellalage had previously taken five wickets for 40 runs in a match against India during the Asia Cup 2023, held in Colombo on September 12, 2023.