India all-rounder Krunal Pandya was seen giving Sri Lanka’s opposition batsman Charith Asalanka a hug after their on-field collision during the ongoing first ODI of the three-match series at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
New Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and chose to bat first. Bhanuka Rajapaksa made his ODI debut for Sri Lanka. The Indian team also saw Shikhar Dhawan becoming the oldest India ODI captain to lead the Men in Blue in his first match, while Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav made their ODI debuts.
Indian bowlers kept the Sri Lankan run-scoring in check with some quality bowling and the innings also saw Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal getting back together in an ODI after 2 years. Kuldeep roared back with two quick wickets in an over, while Chahal picked a wicket on his first ball of the day.
Krunal Pandya continued to impress by bowling some tight lines and fielding well, picking up a wicket as well. However, what stole the show was Krunal’s sportsmanship when he hugged the opposition batsman.
On the 3rd delivery of the 22nd over, Pandya’s ball was hit straight back to the bowler by the striker. Pandya, in his attempt to secure the ball, knocked into the non-striker Asalanka. The duo hugged it out in the middle.
This led to a slew of funny tweets from cricket fans, some of whom suggested that this was due to the influence of coach Rahul Dravid.
Here are some of the funniest tweets on the Krunal-Asalanka hug:
