Ishant Sharma and Dhammika Prasad were involved in an altercation on Day Four of the third Test between India and Sri Lanka at Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC), Colombo. The incident occurred towards the end of India’s innings, when Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant were batting. Dhammika kept bowling bouncers at Ishant, who ducked beneath them quite comfortably. Dhammika and Ishant stared each other down, and once when Ishant put bat on ball to take a single, he taunted Dhammika in a somewhat comical fashion. Shiamak Unwalla says Ishant and Dhammika, despite their run-in, did not cross a line in their spat. Cricket Scorecard: India vs Sri Lanka, 3rd Test at Colombo (SSC)
Fast bowlers and short tempers usually go hand in hand. From Fred Trueman to Roy Gilchrist to Jeff Thomson to Dennis Lillee to Curtly Ambrose to Dale Steyn, aggression and pace bowling have often been two sides of the same coin. Ishant Sharma might not be quite as fast as those mentioned above, but he has a long and chequered history of staring down, mouthing off, and giving send-offs to batsmen. It is not surprising that he was fined 65 per cent of his match fees for sending off batsmen after the second Test at P Sara Oval that India won. READ: Ishant Sharma fined 65 per cent match fee for ICC Code of Conduct breach
Dhammika Prasad, on the other hand, is a gentle soul. He rarely has words with opposing batsmen, almost never gives them a send-off, and is usually quite civil on the field. He has been known to smile at batsmen as well. When he started bowling incessant bouncers at Ishant while the latter was batting, it came as a bit of a surprise. It was not just about bowling bouncers: Dhammika went up to the batsman on his follow-through and offered him a most un-Dhammika-like stare after every delivery. Ishant was never going to take lightly to this; he responded with stares of his own. READ: Ishant Sharma involved in altercation with Dhammika Prasad in India vs Sri Lanka 2015, 3rd Test
This happened repeatedly for one eventful eight-ball over that proved to be the last of India’s innings — before Ishant finally took a single. While passing Dhammika, Ishant mocked the Lankan pacer by constantly hitting his helmet with his own hand. Ishant was presumably asking Dhammika to try and knock him on the head in a move similar to what Rocky Balboa did to Clubber Lang at the end of Rocky III. However, while that was a boxing bout though, this was cricket. Once the final Indian wicket fell (it was Ashwin, and not Ishant, who was dismissed, which prevented Dhammika from enjoying poetic justice) Ishant ran off the ground with Dhammika running right behind him. Whether or not Dhammika was actually chasing Ishant (and if so, for what purpose) remains a mystery. READ: Ishant Sharma must learn to be consistent
Understandably, the reaction to this incident has been one of moral outrage. TV experts, in their mid-innings analysis, mentioned Ishant and Dhammika crossed a line and were out of order. “That’s not cricket” seemed to be the flavour of the day, as is often the case when two cricketers have an on-field spat. READ: KL Rahul has talent, but lacks the consistency needed for Test cricket
Let us, however, look at what actually transpired. It is yet unclear who started the confrontation. It seemed Dhammika was the initiator, for he bowled the bouncers and kept staring at Ishant. This could have been due to any reason, but it did not seem he said anything to Ishant. Similarly, Ishant responded by glaring back, but it did not seem any word were spoken. They did not physically confront each other; nor were insults exchanged. Even when Ishant hit his own head, it was more of a taunt than an affront. At no point did either man look like they would bring the game to disrepute. When the fielders got involved, Ashwin came in between and was quick to ask the umpires to intervene. READ: Cheteshwar Pujara’s century could push Rohit Sharma out
All things said and done, things may have turned out badly had the innings continued. Luckily for all parties concerned, Ashwin was dismissed and it came to an end before things could escalate. In the end the whole incident turned out to be more amusing than anything else; the image of Ishant hitting his own helmet will doubtless turn into a good meme at some point. Tempers did flare, but nothing drastic happened. Ishant and Dhammika added a spark of life to an already eventful series, but no line was crossed. READ: Virat Kohli’s first win as Test captain vindicates ‘aggressive’ approach
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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