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Former Team India cricketer, now a cricket expert and commentator, Sanjay Manjrekar called the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team players 'slightly unprofessional' due to their gestures over the low daylight in the closing moments of Day 2 of the ongoing India vs Sri Lanka Test match in Colombo.
In the last over of the day, spinner Manav Suthar dismissed the home nation cricket team's nightwatchman Prabath Jayasuriya. Jayasuriya was visibly furious on the ground and threw his gloves on his return to the pavilion. The Sri Lanka National Cricket Team was not happy with the umpire's decision to continue playing despite low daylight.
Sanjay Manjrekar labels Sri Lankan cricketers 'slightly unprofessional'
Whether the umpires should continue the match or not could be debatable, but that debate will not be enough to cover the batter's fault, as Sanjay Manjrekar believes. Manjrekar told the broadcasters that the Lankan batters went so deep in nudging the umpires with a possible bad daylight issue that they lost their concentration over the ball and lost the second wicket before the stumps. The day ended with India 503 for 9 in the first innings and Sri Lanka on 8 for 2.
"I see that as being slightly unprofessional. I know you want to nudge the umpire, saying it's bad light, but you can't take your eye off the ball. I thought the bad-light situation and their angst with the umpire consumed their minds, and they weren't focusing on the ball because the light was never that bad," Sanjay Manjrekar said.
Sanjay Manjrekar refuses to believe batters could not spot the ball because of low light
The cricket pundit further described that the daylight outside was not low enough that a batter would not see the ball. The light there in Colombo might be low in comparison to the daytime, but there was enough visibility to see the deliveries.
"We know the light is never so bad that you can't see the ball. It's just that there is a certain amount of darkness that is considered bad light, and it's offered to the batter,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on the Sony Sports Network.
Manjrekar further explains that at the moment when the Lankan batters were more concerned about the daylight, Manav Suthar utilized the situation in favour of the India National Cricket Team. The Lankan nightwatchman, Prabath Jayasuriya, was totally outclassed by Suthar's spin. Sri Lanka lost Jayasuriya after losing Lahiru Udara earlier in the innings to the Indian fast bowler Prasidh Krishna.
India strengthen their bid to win the series
Then maybe Sri Lanka had a point that it was bad light enough, but that doesn't condone the mistake that they made now. You can't blame a night watcher for getting out. That was a great delivery from Suthar, in a nice variation and a superb delivery from process at the finish as well,” he added.
After the stumps of Day 2, India looked miles ahead of Sri Lanka to win the match. If India wins the match, then the two-match Test series will end in a 2-0 scoreline.
