‘Come on Chandi, throw your wicket away’: Joe Root sledges Dinesh Chandimal, the Lankan obliges

The England cricket team are in supreme form as they gear up for the upcoming series against India. The team under Joe Root’s leadership on Monday completed a 2-0 whitewash against Sri Lanka as they won the second Test by six wickets. 

It was an all-round effort from the English unit, with both the bowlers and batsmen chipping in the triumph. Skipper Root had a fantastic outing with the bat as he completed a double century in the first encounter and followed it up with another fine century at Galle, the venue for the second Test.

The calm and composed English batsman was on top of his game both with the bat and in the field. Standing at slips, the 30-year-old was found chirping, trying to motivate his bowlers and distract the hosts from settling down in the middle. 

A video of it has gone viral on social media, where Root is heard sledging his counterpart Dinesh Chandimal, as the Lankan skipper gets ready to face Jack Leach. 

Bairstow: Come on Chandi, throw your wicket away!
Chandimal: Say less #SLvENG pic.twitter.com/znPUZrkWBA

— sonali (@samtanisonali1) January 25, 2021

Root, in the video says: “Come on Chandi, Throw Your Wicket Away”.

To Root’s amazement, the Sri Lankan skipper did end up throwing away his wicket on the very following delivery as James Anderson ran backwards and completed a catch to send Chandimal packing on 9.

In another incident from the same match, Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella joined the act, which also had a similar outcome. The Lankan wicketkeeper tried to distract Jonny Bairstow by pointing out that he has been dropped from the England squad for the upcoming tour. 

Dickwella’s sledge work against bairstow 
“ Dropped from the India tour, but going to play the ipl, playing for cash only “  pic.twitter.com/d5zw36ij3h

— rizwan (@rizwan68301915) January 24, 2021

Dickwella then goes on to add that the cricketer only plays for money. One ball after the sledge was recorded on the stump mic, Bairstow was dismissed.