Leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay returned from the wilderness to record a six-wicket haul and help Sri Lanka beat India in the second ODI in Colombo, and put the island nation within touching distance of a first bilateral series triumph over their Asian rival since 1997.

It was Vandersay’s first international appearance since the start of the year and just his 16th match for his country since the completion of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in England in 2019, and it only came about due to an injury to first-choice spinner Wanindu Hasaranga.

The 34-year-old took the opportunity with both hands as he swung the momentum of the game and the series firmly to his side by derailing India’s chase of 240 with quick demolition of India’s star-studded top and middle order, and eventually restricted them to 208.

One has to go way back to 1997 to find the last time Sri Lanka defeated India in a bilateral men’s ODI series and Vandersay can help his side match what the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya, Aravinda de Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga and Muthiah Muralidaran achieved 27 years ago by avoiding defeat in the series finale in Colombo on Wednesday.

Vandersay will once again be pivotal to Sri Lanka’s chances in the final match of the series and the leg-spinner will be high on confidence following his career-best figures.

“There was a lot of pressure coming into the side. I am coming out of a layoff. It is easier to take credit (for myself). But I want to give credit to the batters as well, who put 240 on the board.

“Hasaranga is our No.1 spinner. I got to understand the atmosphere of the team and team balance. I have to keep pushing myself. There was assistance in the wicket, I was trying to hit the good areas. Once I got my first wicket (Rohit), that built up my confidence,” he added.

The loss was India’s first at ODI level since they fell to a narrow defeat against Australia in last year’s 50-over World Cup and Rohit suggested his side needs to improve in all aspects of their game if they are to level the series on Wednesday.

“When you lose a game, everything hurts. It’s not just about those 10 overs (when Vandersay picked up six wickets). You have to play consistent cricket and we failed to do that. Little disappointed but these things happen,” the India captain said.

“We weren’t good enough. Don’t want to look too much into how we played. But there’ll be talks about our batting in the middle overs. You got to adapt to what’s in front of you. With left-right (combos) we felt it’ll be easier to rotate strike. But credit to Jeffrey, he got six wickets,” Rohit added.