'Hit a six, I'll take you to the IPL' — Yashasvi Jaiswal's banter with Niroshan Dickwella costs the wicketkeeper his wicket

On Day 5 of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka at Galle, Yashasvi Jaiswal turned a quiet fielding stint at square leg into a piece of calculated mind game that ended with Niroshan Dickwella losing his wicket. Jaiswal kept talking to Dickwella, nudging him to hit a big shot in his direction, and the Sri Lankan wicketkeeper eventually obliged with costly consequences.

The exchange, captured in a clip shared on X, began with Jaiswal referencing Dickwella's first-innings aggression. Jaiswal said, 'Come on yaar, there was a lot of shots in first innings. We need to see something, come on.' He then pointed towards deep square leg and added, 'Hit him there, come on. Why not?' Dickwella replied, 'No requirement. Take me (to) IPL, then I'll hit.' Jaiswal immediately came back with, 'We will, we will. 100%. Come on, hit him a six, I'll take you to the IPL.' Dickwella signed off with a simple 'Thank you.'

Dickwella falls caught behind off Prasidh Krishna

The dismissal came shortly before Lunch on Day 5, off the bowling of Prasidh Krishna. The right-arm pacer had sent down several bouncers at Dickwella during the 60th over before the decisive delivery arrived on the final ball. It was a back-of-a-length delivery, and Dickwella moved across to the leg side looking to force it for a boundary. He could only manage a thin outside edge, and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant completed the catch without difficulty.

The Indian fielders gathered around Jaiswal after the dismissal, acknowledging that his verbal volleys had worked their way into Dickwella's thinking. The Sri Lankan's attempt to play the aggressive shot Jaiswal had been calling for brought his innings to an abrupt end, with Pant accepting the catch to hand Krishna his third wicket in the Test match.

India held the upper hand heading into the second session of Day 5 at Galle, with all three results still possible.

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The match is the first of two Tests in the series at Galle, which began on August 15, 2026, and forms part of the 2025-27 ICC World Test Championship cycle. India are led by Shubman Gill and Sri Lanka are captained by Dhananjaya de Silva. Dickwella had been recalled to the Sri Lanka squad specifically for this series.

Jaiswal plays for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, alongside India teammates Ravindra Jadeja and Dhruv Jurel, all three of whom were named in India's playing XI for the first Test.