SL vs AUS: Kumar Dharmasena almost catches the ball but decides to back out during the third ODI

Kumar Dharmasena is a popular Sri Lankan cricket umpire and former international cricketer who represented the nation in Tests and ODIs. Notably, he is the first and only person to officiate an ICC World Cup Final both as a player and an umpire.

The 51-year-old is currently involved in the ongoing ODI series between Sri Lanka and Australia. He made the headlines after he tried to take a catch during the passage of play during the third ODI Much to everyone’s surprise, he backed out in the first place.

The third ODI between Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka took place at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Australia won the toss and opted to bat first. The visitors managed to score 291/6 in 50 overs with the help of Trevis Head’s 70 and Aaron Finch’s 62.

Kumar Dharmasena goes for a catch during the third ODI

During the second ball of the 36th over, an interesting incident took place which took the cricket fraternity by surprise. Kumar Dharmasena who was stationed at square leg nearly caught the ball after Australia’s Alex Carey lofted the ball towards his side.

Dharmasena felt that it was against the rules of the game and as a result, he didn’t take the catch. Meanwhile, Cricket Australia had a funny tweet reserved for the umpire. “Catch! Umpire Kumar Dharmasena looks like he wants to get into the action… Thankfully he didn’t.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owqk5GEWAZQ

https://twitter.com/sportsfan_cric/status/1538698840731430912

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka aced the run-chase without any fuss as they won the game by six wickets. The youngsters Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis showed great composure while chasing down the target.

Nissanka scored his maiden century as he ended up scoring 137 including 11 fours and 2 sixes. He was named the man of the match. Mendis scored 87 including 8 fours. The fourth ODI will be held on June 21 at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. The fifth ODI will be held at the same venue on June 24.