Cricket has seen plenty of different ways to put a batter off. Rishabh Pant added another one to the list on Day 5 of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo. With Sri Lanka’s lower order showing resistance, Pant tried a bit of gamesmanship by making the famous bail switch. Just before the start of the 103rd over of Sri Lanka’s second innings, Pant walked towards the stumps and casually swapped the two bails. It is an old cricket superstition, with players sometimes hoping that changing the bails can disturb a batter or bring about a change in luck. One of the popular ones is the bail switch trick which was done by Broad in Ashes.
At the time, Keshara Nuwantha was well set on 44 from 138 balls, while Sri Lanka were putting together a stubborn resistance. However, Pant’s plan did not happen Dhruv Jurel, who had kept wickets for large parts of the match because of Pant’s shoulder niggle, quickly stepped in and put the bails back where they had been. Pant could only watch with a smile as Jurel undid his bail switch. A few balls later, the two players were seen laughing about the incident. The clip soon went viral on social media captions such as “Inka alag hi game chal raha hai.”
Sri Lanka Fight Back on Day 5 as Sonal Dinusha Hits Century Against India
Day 5 of the second Test between Sri Lanka and India has turned into a thriller. India had dominated large parts of the match after scoring 503/9. Sri Lanka were already six down at the start of the fifth day but batters Sonal Dinusha and Keshara Nuwantha dug in and put together a quality partnership. India kept searching for a breakthrough, but the pair were not giving their wickets away easily. Dinusha was particularly impressive. He soaked up the pressure and rotated the strike throughout his innings. As the session went on, he moved past fifty and looked increasingly comfortable at the crease. Nuwantha played his part at the other end as well as he scored 46 runs from 150 balls.
Together these two put together a century-plus stand, taking Sri Lanka past 300 and Sri Lanka did not lose a wicket in the first session. India tried both spin and pace but the pitch had become much easier to bat on. Dinusha and Nuwantha showed plenty of patience but India finally managed to get two wickets in the second session but the left hander continued his sublime form as he smashed a century to take Sri Lanka's lead past 150. The match is set up for a thrilling final session.
