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Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella and all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga were involved in an embarrassing but funny moment during the fourth day of the first Test against England in Galle.
It all happened when England skipper Joe Root was run-out for after a mix-up with Jonny Bairstow in the second innings.
Dickwella affected the direct hit to send back Root into the pavilion, and he was delighted. While celebrating the fall of a wicket, the wicketkeeper ended up hitting his teammate Hasaranga on his face.
The sidesplitting scene was captured on video and shared by England women’s cricket team member Kate Cross on social media.
Here is the video:
Whooops 😂😂🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️ pic.twitter.com/jdttQXmX7G
— Kate Cross (@katecross16) January 17, 2021
England win the Galle Test by seven wickets
England ended the fourth day with 38/3 with Bairstow and Dan Lawrence at the crease. The pair resumed the final day positively and shared an unbeaten 62-run stand to take their team over the finish line.
Earlier, Root’s double century and Dom Bess’ fifer set the stage for the visitors. While the English captain smashed fourth double ton in Test cricket, Bess bagged his second five-wicket haul in the longest format.
It was the 24th Test win for Root as captain, which puts him second on England’s all-time list, equal with Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss. The table leader is Michael Vaughan with 26 wins from 51 matches.
Most Test wins for an England captain
- 26 – Michael Vaughan (51 matches)
- 24 – Andrew Strauss (50 matches)
- 24 – Joe Root (45 matches)
- 24 – Alastair Cook (59 matches)
The Galle victory was also the fifth consecutive win for England in Sri Lanka. The unbelievable streak started in 2012 when England defeated the Lankans in the final game of the 2-match series. The momentum followed on their next tour in 2018-19 when England had swept Sri Lanka 3-0.
Most consecutive away wins in a country
- 8 – against South Africa (March 1889-April 1899)
- 5 – against Sri Lanka (April 2012-January 2021)*
- 5 – against Bangladesh (October 2003-October 2016)
- 5 – against Australia (January 1933-December 1936)
