Sri Lanka players Shehan Jayasuriya and Kusal Mendis suffered minor injuries after they collided with each other to give New Zealand a much-needed six in the final over of the second T20 International in Pallekele on Tuesday. With seven runs needed in six balls, New Zealand lost Tom Bruce and Daryl Mitchell on consecutive deliveries by Wanidu Hasaranga, before Mitchell Santner decided to play a lofted shot to long-on. Shehan Jayasuriya took the catch but he touched the boundary following the collision with teammate Kusal Mendis, who came racing towards him from deep mid-wicket.
The six levelled the score and Santner followed it up a winning boundary to help New Zealand win the match by four wickets, with two balls to spare.
“Drama in the deep! A great catch from Jayasuriya but he collides with his teammate and goes over the boundary. Santner awarded SIX. Receiving medical attention now, hopefully all ok,” the Blackcaps captioned the pictures of the collision on Twitter.
Skipper Lasith Malinga said the two fielders “are alright and will play the next game hopefully”.
This is not the first time when these two cricketers have suffered injuries on the field. In August, Jayasuriya and Mendis skidded off a bike while celebrating a clean sweep victory over Bangladesh in a three-match ODI series in Colombo.
