LPL 2022 | Twitter reacts as Chamika Karunaratne's gruesome catch attempt leaves him with bloody mouth and four missing teeth

The Lanka Premier League is finally underway after postponement earlier in the year, due to the country's economic crisis, and features Sri Lanka's greatest cricketers rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in T20 cricket around the world. In the fourth encounter of the tournament, last edition's runners-up Galle Gladiators took on the newly-minted Kandy Falcons at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium in Hambantota on December 7 with an aim to establish early inroads in the six-team event. Even though the latter ran out comfortable winners eventually with five wickets and as many overs to spare in their chase of 122, an incident that occurred early on in the game stole all the headlines.

Winning the toss, Gladiators skipper Kusal Mendis opted to bat first but the decision backfired as they were down to 1/2 after just eight deliveries. Further damage was dealt in the fourth over to the side albeit it was fielder Chamika Karunaratne that bore the brunt of it in a physical sense. Nuwanidu Fernando was up against Carlos Brathwaite on the first ball of the pacer's second over, and in an attempt to turn the tables in the game, tried to clear the fence over cover off a fullish delivery outside off. However, he mistimed it causing the ball to go straight up in the sky, and Karunaratne at point chased after it, running backwards.

The pacer seemed to have positioned himself well but misjudged the ball dropping down and the Kookaburra ended up striking him straight into the mouth. Even though it ended up scrambling into his hands, Karunaratne immediately clutched his mouth with blood visibly pouring out. By the time he left the field, the 26-year-old's lips were drenched in blood and he was immediately taken to a private hospital. Reports later revealed Karunaratne had lost four teeth due to the incident and had to undergo surgery but was in stable condition. Twitterati was left shocked by the gruesome occurrence and wished for Karunaratne's speedy recovery.

OMG!

Absolutely scary

Correct

Get well soon

4 teeth gone

Poor attempt

That must've been painful

Bloody blow

Surgery time