[Watch] Janith Liyanage walks off despite on-field umpire adjudging not-out; ultra edge shows no spike
Sri Lanka's Janith Liyanage walked off on his own volition after thinking he was caught at slips during the first ODI against India at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday, August 2. On-field umpire Joel Wilson remained unmoved following the appeal by the Indian players, but eventually adjudged out after Liyanage began walking off to the pavilion.
The right-handed batter tried to go big against Axar Patel by stepping down the track, but missed the turning delivery altogether. The ball deflected off KL Rahul to find Rohit Sharma at first slip. Liyanage's bat had made contact with the pitch during the stroke and by the time he turned around, the appeal had already begun.
Thinking that he had edged it straight to slips, Liyanage started walking back despite the umpire not giving it out initially. However, the ultra edge showed that there was no spike when the ball was near the bat, and the ball had simply turned. There was a slight spike when the bat hit the pitch, which Liyanage ended up misreading as the ball hitting the edge.
Have a look at the incident right here:
The Sri Lankan dressing room, especially interim head coach Sanath Jayasuriya were left surprised by Liyanage's decision to walk off. Whereas, on-field umpire Joel Wilson could not help but flash a smile when the ultra edge showed no spike, indicating that his decision was the right one.
Liyanage was well set on 20, forging a crucial partnership with Wellalage
The duo of Janith Liyanage and Dunith Wellalage had joined forces after set-batter Pathum Nissanka was dismissed with the score reading 101-5. The pair kept the Indian bowlers at bay, putting on some important runs in the middle overs and building a platform for 200 and potentially beyond.
However, Liyanage's impulsive decision to overrule the umpire and walk off at his own peril proved to undo all the hard work.
Wellalage is still going strong at the other end, nearing his fifty and batting with the tail. As of writing, Sri Lanka are placed at 192-7 after 45 overs.