Dinesh Chandimal escapes fake-fielding penalty

KOLKATA: Sri Lanka skipper Dinesh Chandimal was lucky to escape becoming the first 'victim' of fake fielding in Test match cricket at the Eden Gardens here on Saturday.

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The incident happened towards the end of the Indian first innings, when Bhuvneshwar Kumar pushed the fourth ball of the 53rd over - bowled by Dasun Shanaka - through the cover region where Chandimal was stationed. The ball beat a diving Chandimal, but the skipper got up, pretended he had the ball and shaped to throw it back at the stumps before withdrawing as the batsmen scurried back for the second run.

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Among the several rule changes brought into effect by the ICC last month, one pertains to fake fielding which is designed to prevent deception. A cricketer can't feign fielding the ball and throw it, in an attempt to prevent the batsmen from running. As a penalty, the opposition will be awarded five runs. Also, the batsmen at the crease will get to decide who takes strike to the next ball.

In Chandimal's case, on-field umpires Nigel Llong and Joel Wilson had a word with the Lanka captain but decided against penalising him.

That Virat Kohli felt otherwise was evident when the TV cameras focussed on the annoyed Indian skipper. The recent JLT Cup domestic meet in Australia saw Queensland Bulls' Marnus Labuschagne being penalised for 'fake fielding'.

Wilson replaces Kettleborough

With Richard Kettleborough being indisposed, third umpire Joel Wilson replaced him as the second on-field umpire. West Indian Wilson and Englishman Nigel Llong did duty on the third day of the opening India versus Sri Lanka Test. According to a local official, Kettleborough is down with throat infection. Fourth umpire Anil Chaudhary has been entrusted with the TV umpire's duty, while CAB's Binod Thakur is the back-up.