Who Is Jeffrey Vandersay? All You Need To Know About Sri Lanka's New Mystery Spinner

Sri Lanka defeated the Indian team in the 2nd match of the 3-match ODI series by 32 runs at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. With this historic win over India, the Sri Lankan team are leading the series by 1-0 after managing to tie the first game from an easy win situation. In this memorable victory over Men in Blue, the Island nation has found a new sensational spinner who played a pivotal role in demolishing India’s strong batting line-up in his first game for the country. 

We are talking about Sri Lanka’s last match hero Jeffrey Vandersay, who picked 6 wickets in his debut ODI match of his international career. Vandersay came as a replacement for injured Wanindu Hasranga who suffered a hamstring injury in the first ODI of the series. 

Despite playing his first game of 50-overs format he looked confident against one of the strongest batting lineups in the world. When he came to bowl, Men in Blue were in a strong position by scoring 94 runs in 13 overs with captain Rohit Sharma playing on a strike rate of 165 and taking on Sri Lankan bowlers single-handedly. No one thought that a debut player who was playing his first game is going to change the match for the Sri Lankan team with his bowling. But not only he changed he also bowled one of the best spells from the Sri Lankan team in cricketing history, which made him compare with the legends like Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan. 

Jeffrey Vandersay picked 6 wickets in his 10 overs of the spell by conceding just 33 runs at an efficient economy of 3.30. He was the architect of Sri Lanka’s bowling picking the crucial wickets of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill with this leg spin bowling. The help that he was getting from the surface made him difficult to play with having googlies and flipper delivery options in his bag.

Early Career

Vandersay started his cricket journey in domestic leagues, where he made a name for himself through his consistent performances that earned him a spot in Sri Lanka's national team. 

Despite making his debut against Pakistan in 2015. His journey hasn't been smooth. He faced several challenges, including injuries and competition from other spinners. He was also suspended by Sri Lanka Cricket in 2018.

You might not be knowing In July 2018, Vandersay was handed a one-year suspension and fined 20 percent of his annual contract fee by SLC for exceeding the deadline to report to the team hotel after his night out during the West Indies tour in St. Lucia. Irrespective of these setbacks, he remained determined to prove his worth. His perseverance paid off when he was selected for the ODI series against India. This opportunity allowed him to showcase his talent on a larger platform. His performance in the second ODI was a testament to his hard work and dedication

Talking about his match-winning performance after the match the star spinner said

"There was a lot of pressure coming into the side. I am coming out of a layoff. I had to something and it is easier to take credit," Vandersay said after the match. "I want to give credit to the batters as well. They put on 240 runs and that helped me to bowl in good areas."

After the win over the Indian team, the Sri Lankan team will be looking confident for the final match of the series at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.