Picture Credit: Twitter
In the 14th match of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2023, Kusal Medis pulled off a Dhoni-esque run out to send Lahiru Samarakoon back to the pavilion, on August 11, Friday. As the captain of the Dambulla Aura, the 28-year-old was exceptional behind the stumps, playing a major role in his side defeating Galle Titans by 7 wickets at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Notably, after winning the toss earlier in the day, Kusal Mendis decided to field first on a decent batting pitch. But his decision was vindicated by the Dambulla Aura bowlers, who kept on chipping away with the wickets right throughout the Galle Titans’ innings.
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Dasun Shanaka, the captain of Galle Titans, top scored for his team, putting together 36 runs off 26 deliveries with five fours. But he was dismissed by Hasan Ali in the penultimate over of the innings, while dragging an inside out stroke to the long-on fielder Sadeera Samarawickrama, who took a smart, tumbling catch.
It led to the Kusal Mendis moment in the last over of the innings, when Lahiru Samarakoon flicked a low full toss on the leg stump to the deep square fielder. In his bid to keep hold of the strike, the batter looked to run two, but Sadeera Samarawickrama was quick to grab hold of the ball and throw it to the striker’s end for the keeper to collect it.
Watch the video of Kusal Mendis pulling off Dhoni-esque run out:
Although the throw from the fielder was quite far away from the stumps, Kusal Mendis was quick to gather it, which led to him flicking the ball towards the stumps in a Dhoni-esque manner. When the ball hit the middle stump and the balls were uprooted, Lahiru Samarakoon was short of his crease on replay, leading to his dismissal.
Galle Titans managed to put 133/9 on the board in their allotted 20 overs, which was comfortably chased down by Dambulla Aura with 14 balls remaining. Avishka Fernando scoring 70 runs off 49 balls with three fours and sixes meant that his side went top of the LPL table, while their opponents relinquished to the fifth and final place on the points ladder.
