6 Talking Points from the Third Test Between Sri Lanka and India

#2 The Ishant Sharma - Dhammika Prasad tiff

The 3^rd Test was marred by many ugly incidents which needed the umpire’s intervention.

Four players were charged by an ICC panel for a tiff that turned a reasonably amicable Test series into an intense battle. Ishant Sharma, Dhammika Prasad, Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne were the four players.

Tempers flared with Ishant repeatedly striking his head, first while batting against Prasad and later when he got Chandimal’s wicket. He also gave Upul Tharanga a send-off. Chandimal is in trouble as well given he made physical contact, however faint, during a heated argument. Ishant and Rangana Herath were involved in a face-off when Sri Lanka were batting in their first innings.

Prasad got some bouncers from Ishant, a favour he returned in kind while bowling deliberately a big no-ball. Ishant has been docked 65% of his match fee in the second Test already and now face the prospect of a ban. While Virat Kohli and Angelo Mathews tried to calm things down alternately when they were on the field, different incidents kept popping up like Dhammika Prasad sprinting behind Ishant all the way till the pavilion when India’s second innings ended.

Kusal Perera’s dismissal in the second innings involved another unsavoury incident which Ravichandran Ashwin put a brake to quickly.