Sri Lanka‘s Janith Liyanage chose to leave the field after believing he was caught at slips during the first ODI against India at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday, August 2. Although on-field umpire Joel Wilson initially stood firm despite the Indian players’ appeal, he eventually ruled Liyanage out after he started walking off to the pavilion.
The right-handed batter attempted to hit a big shot off Axar Patel by stepping down the track but missed the spinning delivery entirely. The ball deflected off KL Rahul and was caught by Rohit Sharma at first slip. Liyanage’s bat had touched the pitch during his shot, and by the time he turned around, the appeal had already started.
Believing he had edged the ball to slips, Liyanage began walking off despite the umpire not giving him out initially. However, the ultra edge revealed no spike when the ball was near the bat, indicating it had simply turned. The slight spike occurred when the bat struck the pitch, which Liyanage misinterpreted as the ball hitting the edge.
You can watch the video here:
— hiri_azam (@HiriAzam) August 2, 2024
The Sri Lankan dressing room, particularly interim head coach Sanath Jayasuriya, was surprised by Liyanage’s decision to leave the field. Meanwhile, on-field umpire Joel Wilson couldn’t help but smile when the ultra edge showed no spike, confirming that his decision was correct.
Janith Liyanage was given not out, but he himself walked off.
– Turns out he was Not Out, the whole Sri Lankan dressing room in shock. pic.twitter.com/aa93OGJHOx
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) August 2, 2024
Poor from Janith Liyanage but honestly Joel Wilson is the most horrible umpire I have ever seen. #SLvIND
— Naveen Peiris (@_Naviya_) August 2, 2024
No bat on the ultra edge lmao and Janith had walked.
J̶a̶n̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶L̶i̶y̶a̶n̶a̶g̶e̶ Janhit mein Review Nahi Liyange.
— Manya (@CSKian716) August 2, 2024
Ohh!! Shocker!! Janith Liyanage quits even before umpire rules out, so umpire has to raise the finger! Pathetic!!! #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/86sl6MEfJI
— Dulith Kasun (@DulithK) August 2, 2024
Janith Liyanage was given not out, but he himself walked off.
– Turns out he was Not Out, the whole Sri Lankan dressing room in shock.
Gambhir era creating different type of history now 🔥🔥🔥#Kholi pic.twitter.com/LRSG9KKX9T
— Janak Jakhar (@janak_jakhar) August 2, 2024
Indian Janith Liyanage https://t.co/gnO0tzv6Ci pic.twitter.com/fMkxIxyvgG
— RK (@MahiGOAT07) August 2, 2024
janith liyanage's inspiration: https://t.co/Sg1uOwV7pt pic.twitter.com/S5jd3ZFxKG
— 🐐 (@ItsHitmanERA) August 2, 2024
Janith Liyanage was given not out but he himself walked off!!!!#RohitSharma #ODIs pic.twitter.com/zfkMDnGKFU
— Cricketman (@Manojy9812) August 2, 2024
Liyanage was solidly established at 20, forming a key partnership with Wellalage
Janith Liyanage and Dunith Wellalage teamed up after the dismissal of set-batter Pathum Nissanka, with the score at 101-5. They successfully countered the Indian bowlers, scoring crucial runs in the middle overs and setting up a platform for reaching 200 and possibly more.
However, Liyanage’s hasty choice to disregard the umpire and leave the field on his own accord ultimately negated all their hard work. Wellalage remains solid at the other end, approaching his fifty and batting with the lower order. At the time of writing, Sri Lanka is at 192-7 after 45 overs.
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