Wellalage took five wickets for 40 runs, aiding Sri Lanka in limiting India to 213 in Colombo on Tuesday.
Wellalage also dismissed Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul apart from Kohli and Rohit.
“For me, Virat Kohli is the No. 1 batsman. I am very happy to have got those two (Kohli and Rohit) big wickets. I trust my basics, and trust myself,” said Wellalage in the post-match press meet.
The 20-year-old claimed he was going up against some seasoned batters and was attempting to bowl a wicket-to-wicket line.
“The batters were set and India had got off to a fabulous start. I just tried to bowl wicket to wicket. Once we got those three wickets in three overs, we were able to put India under pressure.
“There was turn and when you put the ball in the right area, you could unsettle the batsmen. But I would have been happier with a win,” said Wellalage.
Sri Lanka could only muster 172 despite holding India to 213 runs, losing the game by 41 runs.
Later, Wellalage also impressed with his batting, scoring 42 runs off of 46 balls.
The left-handed hitter and Dhananjaya de Silva added 63 runs together for the seventh wicket, restoring Sri Lanka’s chances of winning.
“I just tried to support him. We didn’t want to take any risks. His plan was to try and get closer to India’s total,” he said.
Thursday’s virtual knockout match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan will determine who advances to the final match against India on September 17.
Wellalage hoped his team would advance to the championship game.
“We have played four matches so far and we are happy that we have won three of them. The larger picture is that we have got one more game remaining.
“We still have a chance to make it to the finals, and hopefully we will pull it off,” he added.
(With PTI inputs)
