[Watch] Mohammed Siraj and Kusal Mendis involved in a heated exchange during IND vs SL 3rd ODI

Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj and Sri Lankan batter Kusal Mendis were involved in a verbal spat during the ongoing third ODI on Wednesday, August 7. The final game of the three-match ODI series is being played at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

The event took place during the 39th over of the Sri Lankan innings. After the third ball of the over, both players got involved in a heated exchange, with the Indian pacer making some gestures with his hand on his way back to the run up.

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was seen in the background encouraging Siraj to keep bowling at good lengths.

Here’s the video of the incident:

The spat with Mendis seemed to work in the favor of the Indian pacer, as Siraj dismissed Sadeera Samarawickrama for a golden duck on the fifth ball of the same over. The right-handed batter's wicket left Sri Lanka at 184/4 after 38.5 overs.

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Sri Lanka lose wickets in quick succession after a great start

In the all-important game, Sri Lankan captain Charith Asalanka won the crucial toss and opted to bat first. Openers Pathum Nissanka and Avishka Fernando provided a great start for the hosts, adding 89 runs off 119 balls. Nissanka scored 45 off 65 balls before he was dismissed by Axar Patel.

The Sri Lankan batters carried on the good start as Kusal Mendis and Avishka (96) stitched together a 82-run partnership for the second wicket. The latter was dismissed just four runs short of a century by debutant Riyan Parag.

Since then, Indian bowlers have recovered well, as the hosts saw themselves go down from 171/1 to 199/6, with Riyan Parag leading the charge with three wickets.

At the time of writing, Sri Lanka were 207/6 after 45 overs, with Kamindu Mendis and Kusal Mendis at the crease for the hosts.