IND vs SL, 2nd Test, Day 5: Team India keeper-batter Rishabh Pant tried to lift his teammates’ spirits on Day 5 of the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo.
With the tourists struggling for a breakthrough despite subtle assistance off the wicket, Pant, in between overs, urged his teammates not to drop shoulders and create more energy on the field. A video of the same surfaced on social media.
IND vs SL, 2nd Test, Day 5: Rishabh Pant encourages his teammates as Sri Lanka put Team India under pressure
While the tourists have been ahead for the most part in this Test, Day 5 was one of those rare occasions when Sri Lanka managed to shift the pressure on the opposition. While the Lankans had started the day with a slender lead of 16, Sonal Dinusha and Keshara Nuwantha had taken the tally beyond 100 in the first session without giving away their wickets. Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar did beat the bat on certain occasions but failed to create a real wicket-taking opportunity. As a result, Pant, famous for his stump-mic comments was heard yelling the following:
“Body language uthaane padegi bhaaiyon. Bahar se koi nahin aayega. Dum lagaao thodi der yaar. Energy create karo andar. Chalo, Chalo, Chalo bhaiyon. Shoulder bahut drop ho gaya hai. Thoda mahaul banana padega. Come on, Come on, Come on, let’s go. (We have to raise our body language. No one is coming from outside. Put some energy, some force. The shoulders have dropped. Need to create an environment).
IND vs SL, 2nd Test, Day 5: Manav Suthar gets breakthrough in first over after lunch
It was Suthar only to open the floodgates for India as he dismissed Nuwantha for 46, ending a pesky 112-run partnership with Dinusha. However, the in-form Dinusha can still add another 50 runs with the tailenders.
Sri Lanka began Day 4 at 265/8, needing another 39 runs to avoid follow-on. Although a set Sonal Dinusha reached his second hundred of the series, the home side wasn’t able to avoid the follow-on and Indian skipper Shubman Gill enforced it. Despite losing a couple of wickets early on, Sri Lanka played proactively, thanks to a century stand between Pasindu Sooriyabandara and Kamindu Mendis.
Prasidh Krishna’s short-pitched delivery undid Mendis, who perished for 55. Sooriyabandara had a rush of blood and fell for 92, missing a well-deserved ton by a whisker. India also dismissed Niroshan Dickwella and Dhananjaya de Silva, with Dinusha yet again forced to bat with the tail. The tourists will want to rid of Dinusha at the earliest. If the home side get anywhere near 150, Gill and co. will find themselves in a very tricky position and could well even lose the Test, given their recent batting struggles in chasing fourth-innings target.