The argumentative Indian versus the hot-headed Sri Lankan
Ishant Sharma gestures to Dhammika Prasad, ostensibly telling the bowler to aim for his head on Day Four of the third Test at the SSC on Monday. (Source: AP)
Before Monday, Test cricket had witnessed its fair share of ridiculous and outrageous wicket-celebrations, and more so from its fast bowlers. If one would morph into a mock aeroplane, there was another who used to start an invisible lawn-mower. There were some who would put their finger to the lips after having mouthed off a plethora of expletives in the build-up to the dismissal, some of these brutes have even dared to blow kisses of death at their victim. Never before, had we quite seen a pacer turn masochistic while celebrating his victim’s downfall.
But then at the SSC, Ishant Sharma dismissed Dinesh Chandimal and then started hitting himself, smacking his own head to be precise. And strangely, it wasn’t the first time either that Ishant had indulged in self-flagellation on the fourth day of the third Test, that proved to be a stormy and ill-tempered one.
The gestures or the person they were intended for, though, were not merely incidental for Ishant. Nor were they impromptu. Their seeds had been laid around 45 minutes earlier during an ugly fracas that originally involved Ishant and Dhammika Prasad — two usually affable and fun-loving fast bowlers — but then began involving many other players.
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It all started with Ishant’s arrival at the crease. In the 76th over of the Indian second innings, a weary Prasad — who had toiled away with intermittent success over the last three days — decided to test his back by banging in a bunch of short deliveries at his lanky counterpart. Ishant ducked under the first two bouncers rather comfortably. The third one was higher, and Prasad over-stepped the line in his quest to do so. This time Ishant stood smiling, and an angered Prasad walked towards him but his lips remained sealed. The two fast bowlers were having a stare-down at the centre of the pitch at the SSC. Just then, Chandimal who was being moved from slip to mid-wicket ran across the pitch and seemingly deliberately brushed his shoulder with Ishant’s. That was in many ways the trigger for the scuffle to turn no-holds-barred. Non-striker R Ashwin was soon in the midst and so were a number of Sri Lankan cricketers even as the umpires tried to pull the two warring parties apart. Eventually it took skipper Angelo Mathews to play negotiator and pull his players away.
But Chandimal wasn’t done as he kept chattering away from his new position, even being asked by umpire Nigel Llong to stop it. Next ball, Prasad bowled short of length allowing Ishant to tuck it away, and as he completed his single, the Indian pacer started hitting his helmet as if to say, “Why don’t you hit me here if you can.” This lead to another stare-down, but not a prolonged one.
Two balls later Ishant was back on strike, and Prasad decided to throw all logic out of the window, and bowl yet another bouncer, this time over-stepping the line by a massive margin. Ishant just stood smiling, adding to Prasad’s chagrin. The quaint venue had turned into a war zone, and sans the war-paint, Ishant looked every bit the warrior.
The fifth ball was flicked for a single before Prasad had Ashwin caught-behind, following which the most bizarre event of the day transpired. First, Ishant scampered off to change into bowling gear, and get ready to take the new-ball. But close on his heels was Prasad even while his teammates stood around the square. Initially it wasn’t clear whether Prasad was actually in pursuit of his adversary. But they did chance upon each other once they had climbed the stairs leading up to the dressing-rooms before being reportedly separated by the Sri Lankan team manager, who pulled his ward into their pavilion. No altercation is believed to have happened behind the scenes.
And it was a fired-up Ishant upon his return to the middle, and it was expected that he would give Tharanga a send-off — screaming in front of the batsman’s face — more owing to his mood rather than his relationship with the opener. Then, a few overs later, he started smacking his head once Chandimal was sent packing. As soon as he walked in to bat, Mathews went straight to Ishant and the two were seen having a rather more sedate conversation with the Indian trying to explain his side of the story. The umpires also met captain Virat Kohli on a couple of occasions, asking him to control the situation.
For a majority of his career, Ishant has been known to be a fast bowler with a slightly milder disposition, prone to the odd scrap of course, but mainly more of a gentle giant rather than a raging bull. But it was Ishant in a never-before-seen avatar that had taken the field at the SSC.
He had been involved in a run-in with Kamran Akmal during a T20 international at Ahmedabad. But that was hardly even comparable to this one. It seemed even stranger that Ishant would blow his top off repeatedly here, considering that he is already under the scanner after having copped 65 per cent of his match fees from the previous Test for provoking batsmen he had dismissed twice. And if found guilty again, he could well face a suspension for one Test or three ODIs. For now though, Kohli & Co. will be hoping he can channel his angst into getting rid of the Sri Lankans as quickly as possible on Tuesday, regardless how he wants to celebrate his feat.
