New Delhi:
The hit wicket is one of the rarest forms of dismissals in Test cricket. In 2344 Tests, there have been only 158 hit wicket dismissals in 142 years. This stat equals to one dismissal at an average of one year and every 14 Tests. However, the Canberra Test between Australia and Sri Lanka at the Manuka Oval was the 2345th Test in history and in the match, the world witnessed another hit wicket dismissal with Dhananjaya de Silva getting out to Mitchell Starc as Australia continued to dominate the second Test against Sri Lanka. The incident occurred on day 3 of the match with Australia aiming to build a sizeable advantage.
In the 59th over of the Sri Lankan innings, Starc was coming round the wicket and bowled a bouncer at 150 mph to de Silva who was cramped in playing the pull shot. He tried to bail out of the shot and withdrew his bat as the ball thudded into his body and went to Paine who appealed for the catch. However, as de Silva was bringing the bat down, it hit the off bail to dislodge it from the stump. Starc and Australia were appealing for the catch but when Pat Cummins pointed out that it was hit wicket, de Silva was given the marching orders.
This was the 19th instance of a batsman getting hit wicket in a Test match in Australia but de Silva became only the sixth Sri Lankan player to be out hit wicket. The first Sri Lankan batsman to be dismissed in this fashion was Aravinda de Silva during the Sialkot Test against Pakistan in October 1985. Afte six years, Arjuna Ranatunga was out in a similar fashion during the Wellington Test against New Zealand in 1991. Former wicketkeeper Romesh Kaluwaitharana was out hit wicket during the St.John’s Test against West Indies in Antigua in 1997.
Here's a dismissal you don't see every day! 😳#AUSvSL | @bet365_aus pic.twitter.com/bJJpWUqhKh
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) February 3, 2019
Kaluwitharana was again out hit wicket in the same series during the Jamaica Test against West Indies and he remains the only Sri Lankan to be out hit wicket twice in Tests. Kumar Sangakkara was out hit wicket during the Kandy Test against Zimbabwe in 2002 while Nuwan Pradeep was the last to suffer this fate before de Silva during the Lord’s Test against England in 2014.
