LPL | Twitter in splits as Colombo’s celebration of Chamika’s blinder leads to embarrassment upon replay

(sportscafe) - The introduction of VAR in football has led to a pandemic of premature celebrations and cricketers seem to be catching onto the fad as well. The Colombo Strikers pulled out all the stops to celebrate Chamika Karunaratne's sensational grab in Dambulla, only for the catch to be ruled out upon review.

Kandy Falcons put on a run-scoring clinic for the majority of their innings to remain on-course for a mammoth 200-run chase but a few late strikes by Colombo Strikers meant the match hung finely in the balance with the death overs to go. However, the narrative of the encounter could have been entirely different had a crucial decision earlier gone the Strikers' way with the incident leading to quite some chatter on social media.

To cap off the eighth over, wrist-spinner Shadab Khan followed compatriot Mohammad Haris as he tried to make room by shuffling to his left, and delivered a loopy length ball slightly beyond leg stump. Nonetheless, Haris had managed to create enough room and slapped the ball towards deep cover point in the gap and the Kookaburra seemed destined for the boundary. However, at the very last moment, Chamika Karunaratne who had come sprinting from point position, put in a ludicrous dive with his right hand extended and somehow the white rock stuck to the center of his palm, even as the Sri Lankan was almost parallel to the ground. The veteran was expectedly ecstatic with his effort and immediately turned to the crowd before exhibiting a few elbow pumps and was soon mobbed by his excited teammates.

Even as the celebrations went on, the umpires called for a review of the catch and upon first look, the Strikers reignited their celebrations with head nods acknowledging the catch was clean. Yet, further replays showed that while landing onto the surface, Karunaratne had slid the ball across the turf to retain control and the big screen inevitably screamed not out in giant letters. The Strikers were evidently embarrassed and quickly took to their positions, willing for the game to resume as soon as possible.

pic.twitter.com/Gjynvqpdjk

— Gill Bill (@bill_gill76078) July 6, 2024