Ravindra Jadeja's No Ball Annoys Gautam Gambhir As Dhananjaya de Silva Gets A Lifeline

Ravindra Jadeja's No Ball Annoys Gautam Gambhir [Source: Sony Liv]

In a frustrating moment, Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Dhananjaya de Silva in the fourth innings of the first Test at Galle, but it turned out to be a no-ball, which irked head coach Gautam Gambhir. 

India were in the driver's seat on Day 4 as Sri Lanka were three wickets down with just 21 runs on the board in a 372-run chase. And Jadeja produced yet another opportunity to force the hosts into a collapse.

Ravindra Jadeja frustrates the Indian camp

On the last delivery of the 16th over, Ravindra Jadeja bowled a beautiful delivery that drifted into Dhananjaya de Silva. It landed on a good length around off stump and then spun away. 

Dhananjaya got a very thin outside edge, and the ball went towards KL Rahul at first slip, who took a safe catch. Jadeja and India initially thought they had dismissed the Sri Lankan captain. 

However, the umpire's no-ball siren went off because Ravindra Jadeja had overstepped the bowling crease. Dhananjaya de Silva therefore got a reprieve and remained at the crease. 

The no-ball naturally frustrated the Indian camp, especially Gautam Gambhir. Sitting in the dugout, Gambhir had a grin on his face as his fiery eyes hid behind his black shades.

Dhananjaya’s wicket could have forced Sri Lanka into a collapse, but Jadeja’s rookie mistake denied India that opportunity.

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Jadeja’s performance in the Galle Test so far

Having said that, Ravindra Jadeja has been a useful all-rounder in this Galle Test. He took 3 wickets for 57 runs in the second innings, where Sri Lanka got bundled for 284 runs in response to India’s 462-run first innings total.

However, in the fourth innings, Ravindra Jadeja is yet to grab a wicket. Regardless, Mohammed Siraj managed to draw first blood to dismiss Nishan Madushka. 

Prasidh Krishna and Manav Suthar also contributed with a wicket each. Sri Lanka still need over 300 runs to win with just 7 wickets and 4 sessions in hand. Hence, for now, India are clear favourites to win this Test and take an early lead in the series.

Devdutt Padikkal has been the star performer

Meanwhile, Devdutt Padikkal got an opportunity to play at no. 3 in this first Test against Sri Lanka after Sai Sudharsan got injured. And the RCB star grabbed the chance with both hands.

He hammered a remarkable 167 off 230 balls in the first innings and followed it up with yet another 44 off 75 balls in the second innings. Padikkal became India’s leading run-scorer of the series and proved his mettle in style.

After dominating domestic cricket for a couple of years, Devdutt Padikkal finally got his due in international cricket, and his performance is a clear example of why he truly deserved that place. 

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