Dickwella was dismissed for 12 off 17, with Sri Lanka still needing to bat out more than two sessions to salvage a draw on day five. They failed, being dismissed 165 runs short soon after the lunch break.
The banter itself was good natured. Two balls before the dismissal, in the 60th over of Sri Lanka’s innings, Jaiswal had been trying to get Dickwella to hook the short balls that Prasidh was bowling at him.
Midway through that over, Jaiswal walked over to Dickwella to suggest he had played with unusual restraint for his 80 in the first innings, which took two hours and 40 minutes.
“There wasn’t a lot of shots in the first innings. I need to see something,” began Jaiswal.
Dickwella initially responded with an “okay” before Jaiswal pointed to the Galle Municipality Stand and told him: “Hit him there, I need to see something.”
“No, I’m not Jaiswal,” Dickwella responded, suggesting the hook was not a shot he usually played. But then Dickwella kept the conversation going by quipping that he would do it “if you take me to IPL”. To this Jaiswal said, “I will 100% take you.”
Ironically, Dickwella and Sangakkara have a relationship themselves. Not only did Sangakkara play in the Sri Lanka Test side with Dickwella at the tail end of his career, the two are products of the same school: Trinity College, Kandy.
Dickwella didn’t try to hook Prasidh, despite the quick bowler sending down short-pitched balls almost exclusively in that over. Dickwella did try to cut one that was very close to his body, but as he backed away to the leg side, he produced an edge that Rishabh Pant snaffled.
Essentially, Dickwella was trying to repeat the shot that had brought him two runs the previous delivery.
The India players’ reactions, however, suggested they felt the chatter from Jaiswal had helped draw the mistake from Dickwella. That wicket exposed Sri Lanka’s tail, with offspinner Keshara Nuwantha having to come out to bat shortly before lunch.
On that occasion, one of Dickwella’s Sri Lanka team-mates had asked him to tone his chatter down. But Dickwella had responded: “Don’t worry, I’m helping them waste their own time.”
