Who is Sonal Dinusha? Sri Lankan youngster proves to be thorn in the neck for Shubman Gill & Co during IND vs SL Tests

Sonal Dinusha is proving to be a thorn in the neck for the Shubman Gil-led Indian team in the ongoing Test series. After his maiden Test hundred against India in the previous encounter in Galle, the left-hander is once again frustrating the Indian bowlers with his gritty stay in the middle on Tuesday.

Having made his debut for Sri Lanka in the longest format, the spin-bowling all-rounder is turning out to be a mainstay for the Island nation lower down the batting at order no.6 and 7. Coming to bat at no.6 in Galle, it was Dinusha and Niroshan Dickwella who rescued Sri Lanka after being reduced to 92/5.

In Colombo, Dinusha came to bat at no.6 after the fall of captain Dhananjaya de Silva with the side reeling at 137/5 in reply to India's first innings total of 503/9. With little support from his teammates at the other end, Dinusha stood tall with an attempt to save his team from follow-on.

Sri Lanka would require at least 304 runs to avoid follow-on after India rode on hundreds from Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel to declared their first innings at 503/9. Dinusha'a ability to master the longest format and play spin with patience and composure will help Sri Lankan cricket in the long run.

All you need to know about Sonal Dinusha

Born in 2000, Dinusha spent his early days at the Mahanama College. He worked his way up and was a part of the side Sri Lankan squad in the 2020 ICC U-19 World Cup. The left-hander made his first-class debut in 2018 for the prestigious Colombo Cricket Club.

A quality all-rounder, Dinusha accumulated 3698 runs and 133 wickets in first-class cricket before making his international debut. His Test debut came against Bangladesh in Colombo last year, where he scored 11 runs and picked up two wickets.

There was no looking back for Dinusha as he improved with scores of 43 and 92 against West Indies prior to the home Test series against India. Having missed on a well-deserved hundred in the Caribbean, Dinusha got his maiden hundred for the national team against India in Galle.

At the time of writing, Dinusha is unbeaten on 85 from 137 balls as rain stopped play in Colombo. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka reached 265/8 when rain stopped play to force an early stumps.

The home team trailed India's massive first-innings total of 503 for nine declared by 238 runs when the rain interrupted proceedings. Dinusha (85) and Lahiru Kumara (8) were at the crease.