Mayank Agarwal’s run out was one of the highlights of day 1 of the second Test between India and Sri Lanka at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. Former opener Sunil Gavaskar pointed out that Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella asked for a review before taking the bails off, effecting the run out. 

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In the second over of India’s first innings, Vishwa Fernando’s ball hit Agarwal’s pads and the Sri Lankans made an appeal, which was rejected by the umpire. The batsman, in the meantime, tried to take a quick single but did not see Praveen Jayawickrama had almost collected the ball. While Agarwal charged far down the wicket, his partner Rohit Sharma did not run. The Punjab Kings captain was run out. 

However, Dickwella started appealing for an LBW review before whipping the bails off. He made the ‘T’ signal. The DRS call did not stand as the bowler had overstepped but Agarwal, who was run out, still had to leave. 

Talking to the turn of events, India legend Sunil Gavaskar said Dickwella’s insistence on taking a review was ‘beyond understanding’.

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“Why Dickwella was asking for a review before removing the bails is beyond understanding,” Gavaskar said on commentary.

“The reason for this (the confusion between Mayank and Rohit) is Sri Lanka’s unusual field placement,” said former Sri Lanka cricketer Russell Arnold.

“Russell makes a valid point. The striker may not have seen the point fielder sneaking in,” cricket expert Harsha Bhogle said. 

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The commentators said that the visitors had placed Jayawickrama at backward point and Agarwal might have thought he had beaten the in-field. 

Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer’s pyrotechnics with the bat drove India to a position of strength after Sri Lanka made early inroads on a spinner-friendly track as the second Test heavily tilted in favour of the hosts. After scoring 252 runs, India managed to reduce Sri Lanka to 86/6 at stumps.