During the final day of the Test match at Galle International Stadium, a humorous exchange unfolded between Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batter Niroshan Dickwella.
This playful banter ultimately contributed to Dickwella’s dismissal as Sri Lanka pursued a challenging target.
Niroshan Dickwella’s quest for a Test century continued, as he fell short after 98 innings and 55 Tests. He struggled to form a solid partnership with Sonal Dinusha while Sri Lanka chased down 372 runs, leaving the team at six wickets down by the end of the first session.
Mind Games at Play
Jaiswal’s playful taunts seemed to affect Dickwella’s performance. Positioned at square leg, Jaiswal encouraged Dickwella to play aggressively, referencing his own impressive innings of 80 runs from the first innings. In a light-hearted response, Dickwella jokingly suggested that he would perform better in the IPL. However, shortly after this exchange, he attempted a risky shot and edged the ball to Rishabh Pant, scoring just 10 runs. The dialogue leading up to the dismissal included:
– Jaiswal: “Come on yaar, there were plenty of shots in the first innings. We need to see something, come on.”
– Dickwella: “Yes?”
– Jaiswal: “Yes, I want to see. Come on, show me. Hit him there (pointing towards deep square leg), come on. Why not?”
– Dickwella: “No requirement. Take me (to) IPL, then I’ll hit.”
– Jaiswal: “We will, we will. 100%. Come on, hit him a six, I’ll take you to the IPL.”
– Dickwella: “Thank you.”
India Closing in on Victory
As the match progressed, India found themselves just four wickets away from victory. By the end of the first session on the final day, Sri Lanka had lost two crucial wickets, finishing at 175/6. Keshara Nuwantha (8*) and Sonal Dinusha (65*) remained at the crease, needing 197 runs to secure a win.
Sri Lanka began the day at 84/4, with Dinusha and captain Dhananjaya de Silva (31*) looking to stabilize the innings. The captain started strong, hitting a boundary off Ravindra Jadeja’s second delivery of the session, while the Indian bowlers kept the scoring in check.
A Fightback from Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka reached the 100-run mark in 42.3 overs, and after that, both batters began to play more freely, finding boundaries against Jadeja. Dhananjaya reached his half-century with a series of boundaries, while Sonal hit a six off Kuldeep Yadav to bring up his own fifty, having previously scored a century in the first innings.
The two were building a promising partnership, but Jadeja broke their 95-run stand by dismissing Dhananjaya for 59 runs. A top-edge while sweeping landed in the hands of Manav Suthar at short fine leg, leaving Sri Lanka with half their side back in the pavilion at 142 runs.
Niroshan Dickwella’s reverse sweep brought up Sri Lanka’s 150-run mark, but his partnership with Dinusha was short-lived as he edged a delivery from Prasidh Krishna to Rishabh Pant, departing for 10 runs. Sri Lanka ended the session at 156/6, with Dinusha and Nuwantha at the crease.