On This Day: Kevin Pietersen attempts switch-hit off Tillakaratne Dilshan; latter refuses to bowl in Colombo Test

Dixit Bhargav | 06/04/2020
On This Day: Kevin Pietersen attempts switch-hit off Tillakaratne Dilshan; latter refuses to bowl in Colombo Test

Kevin Pietersen attempts switch-hit off Tillakaratne Dilshan: The Sri Lankan all-rounder objected to the English batsman’s tactics.

During the third day of the second Test of England’s tour of Sri Lanka in 2012 in Colombo, an atypical incident happened on the cricket field when former Sri Lanka all-rounder Tillakaratne Dilshan refused to bowl to former England batsman Kevin Pietersen.

It all happened in the 115th over of the English innings when Dilshan and other Sri Lankan players objected to Pietersen frequently attempting to play the switch-hit.

Having first attempted the shot against New Zealand in 2008, Pietersen never faced such an objection before at the highest level. His attempt to counter a leg-side dominant field saw him facing an issue from the bowler this time round.

Umpire Asad Rauf eventually had to intervene to warn Pietersen for the initial movement of his hands was a tad too quick. “There’s no drama, no issue, I just got my timing wrong,” Pietersen was quoted as saying by reporters after the day’s play.

“He [Asad Rauf] said it was a warning because I moved my hands too quickly and I was okay, it was cool. But like I said when I first played the shot against New Zealand all those years back (in 2008): I don’t think the batter should get penalised because I’m the one taking the biggest risk. I don’t understand the rules, it’s just something I found out mid-innings today at a pretty unfortunate time,” Pietersen said.

Pietersen, who was in the middle of his 20th Test century, scored a whirlwind 151 (165) with the help of 16 fours and six sixes to become the “Player of the Match” for the eighth time in Test cricket.

Kevin Pietersen attempts switch-hit off Tillakaratne Dilshan

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Post Edited By: Dixit Bhargav
England England tour of Sri Lanka 2012 kevin pietersen Sri Lanka Tillakaratne Dilshan

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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