KL Rahul added some entertainment to the match when he reacted humorously to a wide call by the umpire in the first ODI between India and Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. This happened in the 14th over of the Sri Lanka innings when all-rounder Shivam Dube was bowling to opener Pathum Nissanka.
Dube bowled one that drifted down the leg side on the fourth delivery of the over. Nissanka prodded for a glance, but it whizzed way past him to the gloves of wicketkeeper KL Rahul. But Dube thought he had got the edge, for he heard a sound and thought Nissanka had nicked the ball.
Though Dube was certain, the other Indian players, including Rahul, were less convinced. Right at that moment, the umpire signalled a wide, and for a moment or so, there was a conversation regarding the review among the Indian players. At that moment, Rahul jokingly asked if the IPL rule of reviewing wide balls was applicable in international cricket.
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“IPL wala rule hai kya?” KL Rahul asked, pointing towards the 2023 IPL rule of teams being allowed to review wide and no-ball decisions using the DRS. Of course, this rule does not apply in international cricket. Replay revealed that the ball indeed beat the bat and brushed Nissanka’s thigh pad en route to the keeper.
KL Rahul – IPL wala rule hai kya 😭😭#INDvsSL pic.twitter.com/4uvpb5oP5s
— 🇮🇳🐐 (@ProteinKohlii) August 2, 2024
Game-wise, as of filing this report, Sri Lanka was struggling at 143/6 by the 36th over. Captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bat first – at the very start, Shikhar Dhawan’s decision to field was justified when home side opener Avishka Fernando was sent back to the hut by Mohammed Siraj for 1 run.
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Nissanka and Kusal Mendis looked to stitch together the innings with an addition of 39 runs for the second wicket, but Mendis was finally out for 14. Other batsmen, including Sadeera Samarawickrama and captain Charith Asalanka—who scored 14 and 8 respectively—also failed to make a substantial contribution. On his part, Nissanka could only struggle through up to making a half-century but could not convert it into a substantial inning as he was finally out for 56; at that time, Sri Lanka was precariously placed at 101 for 5.
