Credit: X
Indian fast bowler Mohammed Siraj was involved in a heated verbal exchange with Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis in the third and final ODI of the series. The Men in Blue entered this fixture 0-1 down after a shock defeat as the Lankan spinners bundled out the Indian batters at 208 to register a monumental 32-run win.
Coming to the third ODI, Team India were asked to ball first and saw their fast bowlers struggle with the Lankan openers posting an 89-run stand. Sri Lanka's batting continued to score runs freely before Avishka Fernando's dismissal which allowed the Indian bowling to get back into the contest.
Siraj and Mendis get in heated verbal fight in SL vs IND ODI
From that wicket, India took control and restricted the hosts to 248 at the end of the innings. In this phase, Siraj came back for his second spell and got an outside edge off Mendis who then fended away which could have gone on the stumps. After this action, both players were involved in a heated moment.
At the mid-innings break, debutant Riyan Parag spoke about his dream first match for India. Parag picked up three wickets and was India's top bowler with figures of 3-54 in nine overs. Speaking about this effort, the youngster said, "A little disappointed, I could have given 10-15 runs less. It was turning in the back end. First 25 overs, there wasn't one bit of turn. If it had stayed that way, the score could have been close to 300."
"After 25 overs, it started to turn and it's a pretty good score. We pulled it back in the middle overs. 240-odd was a great effort by the boys. (When asked if he will bat at six) I am yet to know that, I am hoping somewhere around that," he added.
