Sri Lanka Break Silence On Fiery On-Field Spat Involving Yashasvi Jaiswal During 2nd Test
India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal got involved in a fiery exchange with Sri Lanka pacer Asitha Fernando on Day 1 of their second Test in Colombo.
- Yashasvi Jaiswal and Asitha Fernando nearly came to blows during the second Test in Colombo
- Sri Lanka's fast-bowling coach left the altercation investigation to match referee Andy Pycroft
- "The verbals are probably an overflow of emotion. I'll leave that to the match referee to deal with," he said
India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal got involved in a fiery exchange with Sri Lanka pacer Asitha Fernando on Day 1 of their second Test in Colombo. The two players nearly came to blows during the heated altercation, which also involved both of them pushing each other. After being hit for three boundaries in the over, Fernando managed to dismiss Jaiswal on the final ball and appeared to give him a send-off. Jaiswal, who was walking back, turned around to confront Fernando. The two exchanged a few words, clashed heads, and there was also a push before they were separated by the rest of the Sri Lankan team.
Sri Lanka's fast-bowling coach Ryan van Niekerk said it is the duty of the match referee, in this case Andy Pycroft, to look into such things. "The verbals are probably an overflow of emotion. I'll leave that to the match referee to deal with," he said.
THINGS GET HEATED!
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Yashasvi Jaiswal and Asitha Fernando exchange words as tensions rise in the middle.
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Devdutt Padikkal conjured an extraordinary 117, powering India above Rishabh Pant's hand injury and the untimely fall of wickets around him to a reasonable 300 for five on the opening day of the second and final Test against a spirited Sri Lanka in Colombo on Sunday.
Dhruv Jurel (7) and debutant Saransh Jain (4) were batting at close after a taxing day of Test cricket. Padikkal's 168-ball innings, his second hundred in as many Tests, was not laced with the customary elegance, barring a couple of occasions when he brought out those full-blooded pulls and drives. He was dropped on 0 and 1 but remained solid after those reprieves.
But the innings was still stunning because of the circumstances in which it was executed.
Yashasvi Jaiswal (45) and skipper Shubman Gill (50), with whom he constructed a stabilising 120-run stand for the third wicket, were dismissed after raising visions of bigger knocks.
Pant copped a blow on his forearm from pacer Lahiru Kumara and had to retire hurt on 3, leaving Padikkal to do the heavy lifting.
Then there were the constantly probing Sri Lankan bowlers and the scorching heat and humidity of Colombo for him to tide over.
It was not that the Karnataka batter had oodles of experience to fall back upon to counter such tough situations.
Padikkal was playing just the fourth Test of his nascent career, but the circumstances forced him to play the lead firefighter's role.
This century was vastly different from the one he scored at Galle, where the pitch was not remotely challenging in the first two days.
(With PTI Inputs)
India Cricket Team
Sri Lanka Cricket Team