The ultimate dream of every talented up-coming Sri Lankan cricketer is to represent the country at the highest level. And to score a half-century and claim a four-wicket haul on his debut is even more remarkable.
This is exactly what Wanindu Hasaranga achieved on his maiden Test appearance for his country in the first Test against South Africa at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.
The 23-year-old leg-spinner showed a great amount of maturity in his very first outing and also provided a glimpse of his all-round potential which would help him to retain his place in the Test team.
There was of course, no doubt about his capabilities as a bowler but the manner in which he batted in the second innings was quite outstanding.
Despite facing a massive defeat against the home side, Hasaranga launched a calculated attack on the South African bowlers and raced to a memorable half-century from just 46 deliveries inclusive of one six and 10 boundaries.
This means that the aggressive right-hander had collected 46 out of his 50 runs through boundaries alone, which is phenomenal for a debutant and especially batting at the position of number seven. Hasaranga may have found his place in the Sri Lankan Test team mainly due to his bowling skills following an impressive First-Class career and backed-up by his excellent performances in the inaugural Lanka Premier League (LPL) Franchise T20 Cricket Tournament.
But he certainly surprised his teammates as well as the opposition bowlers and was not willing to surrender even though most of the other senior batsmen had failed to live up to expectations. Hasaranga gave some thought to the South African bowlers from the start and went about his task in his own style while smashing the ball to all parts of the ground.
And who knows, had the Sri Lankan top-order struck form in the second innings, this Test match would have definitely dragged into the fifth day.
Nevertheless, the all-round performance of Hasaranga is the most significant feature for the Lankans in this Test match which was marred with several injuries to key players.
However, Hasaranga kept his cool throughout the game and provided his one hundred percent to the side in all three departments of the game.
The pressure was really mounting on this young bowler and the expectations were very high after his spin partner Dhananjaya de Silva was ruled out of the Test on the opening day itself.
But Hasaranga took up the challenge and performed the important role as the key bowler of the side while sending down a marathon spell of 45 overs under trying circumstances.
This was a real discipline performance from the young spinner as he was always focused on the situation while conceding just a solitary no-ball during the innings.
He was rewarded for all his hard work with four scalps, which included the wickets of the top-scorer, Francois du Plessis, Skipper Quinton de Kock and all-rounder, Wiaan Mulder.
But more importantly, he did not get carried away through emotions and was able to maintain his composure throughout the innings while maintaining an economy rate of just under four runs per over.
Overall, this was undoubtedly one of the best all-round performances by a Test debutant and Hasaranga will be more than pleased with his contributions to the Sri Lankan Team.
