Ishant, Dhammika and two more SL players charged by ICC after tempers flare

After tempers flared at the end of Day four at SSC Colombo, the ICC announced on Tuesday that Ishant Sharma, Dhammika Prasad, Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne have been charged with breach of ICC code of conduct. Details of the charge will be revealed at the end of the Test match.

Ishant incidentally was already charged 65 percent of his match-fees for earlier transgressions - giving send-offs to batsmen after taking their wickets.

Chandimal, Sharma, Thirimanne & Prasad charged for breaching ICC Code of Conduct. Details to be announced after the conclusion of the Test.

— ICC Media (@ICCMediaComms) September 1, 2015

Ishant Sharma showed a different side to his personality on Day Four of the third Test against Sri Lanka as he went all Nana Patekar during a row with Sri Lanka pacer Dhammika Prasad — the seeds of which were sown when the Indian pacer injured his counterpart earlier in the Test.

Prasad had tried to block Ishant’s bouncer on day three off the first ball he faced. The ball stung his left hand so hard that the Sri Lankan retired hurt before returning to see out his innings in pain. He was also plastered on the left hand when he came to bowl.

Prasad bowled a few bouncers at Ishant when India were batting but the deliveries barely troubled the 6'4" quick. Ishant, who has shown that he is no mug with the bat in Test cricket, ducked under the deliveries before punching one off the back-foot to take a single. That is when Ishant decided to mock Prasad by slapping himself on the helmet so as to tell the bowler: “Your bouncers won’t reach my head.”

This triggered a reaction from the Sri Lankan team and it soon became an all-out scuffle before umpires intervened.

Ishant slapping himself on the helmet was reminiscent of Nana Patekar – the actor is popular for his headslapping dialogue delivery – like in the movies Agni Sakshi and Parinda.

India were soon all out when R Ashwin fell but Prasad fuelled the row by running behind Ishant towards the dressing room and cameras showed that a few words were exchanged between the two in the tunnel.

Ishant came back out to bowl with fire in his belly (and Nana Patekar on his mind) and gave a vociferous send-off after dismissing Upul Tharanga in his very first over. He then removed Dinesh Chandimal - one of the protagonists in the earlier events when Ishant was batting. He went on to celebrate  with an extraordinary head-slap - repeatedly hitting on his heads.

Sri Lanka need 319 runs on the final day of the Test, and they have seven wickets in hand.