On Thursday, Susantha Gamage did not arrive at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground on his tuk-tuk. He no longer needs to drive one. His son, Sonal Dinusha, now earns enough to take care of the family’s needs.
But for seven hours, the father might have remembered the years he did – ferrying his boy from ground to ground on his tuk-tuk, aware, always, of the disparity between the child’s dreams and his own means. For seven hours, India threw everything at his son during the second Test. For seven hours, Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir used every trick up their sleeve, every weapon in their arsenal to dislodge the Sri Lanka No.6. For seven hours, India searched, probed for a single Sri Lankan wicket.
In the end, they stood stunned, realising it was but an exercise in futility.
264 deliveries. 133 runs. Nearly 500 minutes of resilience, spread across two days. The 25-year-old southpaw, only 5 Tests old, had done what Sri Lanka had not managed since 2015 – denied India a Test victory on Lankan soil.
Sonal Dinusha with his parents and sister after the conclusion of Day 5’s play on Thursday. (Special Arrangement)
When it was finally over, when the visitors had accepted their fate and retreated into the customary pleasantries, and when Dinusha stood absorbing the Colombo crowd’s applause, his father, eyes wet, turned to the man beside him.
Sonal Dulshan Elwalage – a former Sri Lankan domestic cricketer, now known simply as Dinusha’s childhood coach.
“I was watching the game with his family. When it ended, his father told me ‘I entrusted you to take care of my son. This would not have happened without you’,” Elwalage tells The Indian Express from Colombo.
Though, it was not only one particular individual. Behind Dinusha’s rise, says his coach, is a community that allowed him to dream.
“Sonal’s father was a tuk tuk driver. His family did not have much money for Sonal to pursue an expensive sport like cricket. Within his means, his father gave him everything he could to support his career. He would drive Sonal to training sessions on his tuktuk. He would tell him not to worry about a thing but his game,” the coach recalls.
Difficult period
And yet, there were times, inevitably, when money became something to worry about for a batsman who now has three centuries in two Tests against India.
Sonal Dinusha with his coach Sonal Dulshan Elwalage (Special Arrangement)
“There were difficult periods in Sonal’s career when money was a real problem. There were even times when he did not have proper accommodation. But Sonal never allowed those difficulties to become excuses. He put together whatever money he earned from playing cricket to solve his problems himself.”
At times, the cricket money was enough to keep his hopes alive. On other occasions, it wasn’t. That was when the coaches stepped up.
“His coaches took care of the financial part. Kalum Gangodawila, a coach with the Colombo Cricket Club, made sure he always had the cricket gear he needed to play. We all knew that Sonal would make it big one day, and we did all we could to ensure money doesn’t stand between him and his dreams.”
Elwalage is only eight years senior to Dinusha, but says they share a ‘father-son’ bond, because through his protégé, he is living out his own unfinished dream.
“Sonal and I both studied at De La Salle College in Colombo. I was his senior in the college team. While playing, I also started coaching the Under-13 team on the side. Sonal was one of the first kids I worked with. He was only 12 at the time.”
Even then, two things set him apart – his penchant for spending long hours on the ground, and his penchant for the longest format of the game.
“When we used to practice, Sonal would spend three to four hours in the nets daily. You simply couldn’t get him out of the ground. Ever since he was a kid, he wanted to bat as long as possible, and he had this unique passion for Test cricket. There were days where he would enter the nets in the morning, and leave only at night. Patience became his biggest strength, as we saw in the Colombo Test.”
Grounded outlook
When he brought up his century on Thursday – his third of the series – his family and coach could barely contain themselves. Dinusha, though, was subdued in his celebration.
A young Sonal Dinusha with former Sri Lankan pacer Nuwan Kulasekara (Special Arrangement)
“That is how he always has been. One of his greatest strengths is his humility. Even today, when he is a national team player, he prefers a simple lifestyle over the worldly things that he surely can afford now.”
Across the two Tests, Dinusha batted for nearly 19 hours. He faced a total of 722 deliveries – 224 more than his nearest competitor. Gary Kirsten, Sri Lanka’s coach, would call it “one of the great saves of Sri Lankan Test cricket.” Gill, drained and in disbelief after fielding for 243.4 overs straight, would acknowledge “I don’t think there was even half-a-chance.”
Sri Lanka had escaped defeat. At the heart of it stood a boy who had learned, long before he ever wore the national cap, exactly how escapes are made.
“Cricket, for Sonal, was the only escape route from his family’s financial problems. He knew that if he wanted to change his circumstances, he had to make something of himself through the sport. Perhaps, that is where his determination and his mental strength comes from. When he plays, he does not give up easily because he knows what he has had to overcome to get there,” Elwalage said.