Mahela Jayawardene impressed with Dickwella's antics, Kohli appreciates the game too

Former Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene looked very impressed with the way Niroshan Dickwella used his wits to delay the proceedings in the final hours of the Kolkata Test. The first Test between India and Sri Lanka was largely hampered by rains on the first two days. A result seemed improbable but the way the hosts bounced back on the final day put everything in a fix.

Indian skipper Virat Kohli led from the front as he hit a quick unbeaten ton to set a tricket target for the Sri Lankans with 231 to get in 47 overs. A fine spell of fast bowling from Bhuvneshwar Kumar saw the visitors reel on 75/7. It was just then that the bad light stopped play and the match ended in a draw. During the dodgy second innings, Dinesh Chandimala and Niroshan Dickwella put on a brief resistance.

During the partnership, Dickwella frustrated a lot of Indian cricketers with his time delaying tactics. He backed away from playing Mohammad Shami and this infuriated the bowler. Shami and Dickwella had an altercation. Soon, even Kohli was seen having a word with the batsman.

The umpires had to intervene to settle things down. Mahela Jayawardene feels that it was very smart of Dickwella to have used those tricks in the pressure situation. He took to Twitter to praise the same and also had his words of praise for Virat Kohli’s knock.

“Enjoyed @NiroshanDikka attitude and antics this afternoon. Good test match.. well played @imVkohli. Looking forward to the next one,” Jayawardene tweeted.

Kohli’s response

Indian skipper Virat Kohli was quick to respond to the tweet of Mahela Jayawardene. He responded back citing the entire episode as Test cricket being at it’s best. “Yes, test cricket at it’s best. Onto the next one now,” wrote Virat Kohli in his response.