“Throw your wicket away”: Dinesh Chandimal falls to Joe Root’s verbal tactics as James Anderson grabs outstanding catch

Dinesh Chandimal falls: The Sri Lankan captain ended up gifting his wicket away at the Galle International Stadium today.

During the fourth day of the second Test of the ongoing England’s tour of Sri Lanka in Galle, Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal (9) was among the home batsmen who played rash shots to gift their wickets to the visiting bowlers.

After rookie spinner Lasith Embuldeniya’s career-best bowling figures of 42-6-137-7 played a crucial role in bundling out England for 344 in 116.1 overs this morning, Sri Lankan batsmen failed miserably to make the most of their 37-run first innings lead.

Co-incidentally, it was Embuldeniya again who top-scored with 40 (42) in a vital 48-run ninth-wicket partnership alongside Suranga Lakmal (11*) as the hosts collectively managed 126/10 in 35.5 overs in their second innings.

As far as Chandimal is concerned, the 31-year old player became victim of both poor shot selection and falling to the verbal tactics of opposition captain Joe Root. “Come on, Chandi. Throw your wicket away,” Root was heard saying on the stump mic a delivery before Chandimal’s dismissal.

The fact that Chandimal had already scored a couple of boundaries on the five deliveries he faced before getting out doesn’t speak highly about him trying to hit another boundary.

Facing England spinner Jack Leach, Chandimal’s attempted slog saw him skying the ball over veteran England pacer James Anderson at mid-on. In what wasn’t a straightforward catch, Anderson had to jog back before judging the catch to perfection.

Dinesh Chandimal falls to Joe Root’s verbal tactics

How Twitterati reacted:

For more cricket-related news, click here.