In the second semi-final of the 2026 Asian Games, held on October 1st (Thursday) in Nishine between India and Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan spinner Tharindu Ratnake attracted significant attention with his play. Ratnake is notable for his ability to bowl with both hands.
In the match against India, he changed his bowling hand to dismiss Sanju Samson. Initially, Ratnake used left-arm off-spin, but before Sanju Samson, he switched to orthodox left-arm bowling. Although Sanju hit a four on the third ball of the second over, Ratnake created pressure in subsequent balls and dismissed Sanju through clean bowling over 2.6 overs.
After this, he used right-arm off-spin to dismiss Shivam Dube on the 19th over with a score of 3 runs. In this match, Ratnake took 2 wickets, conceding 32 runs in 4 overs. He was dismissed after Sanju Samson.
India, batting first, scored 169 runs in 20 overs, losing 7 wickets. Ratnake became a unique bowler who took wickets with both hands in a single T20 International match. Subsequently, Sri Lanka was bowled out for 45 runs in just 9.5 overs while trying to chase the target. The Indian team won the match by a margin of 124 runs.
The final match of the 2026 Asian Games between India and Pakistan will take place on October 3rd (Saturday), where the gold medal match will be played.
Tharindu Ratnake has demonstrated this unique skill before. In his debut Test match against Bangladesh in June 2025, he also bowled with both hands. In that match, both his wickets were taken with right-arm deliveries, but he also bowled left-arm. Ratnake explained at the time that he changes his hand depending on the batsman's weaknesses.
According to ICC rules, a bowler can do this provided they inform the umpire in advance which hand they intend to bowl with, so the umpire can inform the batsman.