“Shaminda Eranga had extracted a thick outside edge from Rohit in the fifth over, and though the ball carried comfortably to Thisara Perera at third man, he shelled the chance. Having been dropped on 4, Rohit would become the third India centurion this series to have been reprieved early in his innings.”
Ok, let's tear that apart. Someone named Shaminda (probably the batsman?) did something with Rohit (the bowler?) and cricket has these things called "overs". I guess he hit the ball to someone named Thisara who was standing at a location called "third man". Or was he third in line for something? Anyway, he seems to have screwed up. Maybe he dropped the ball? At least something was "dropped on 4". I do know that a "ground rule double" counts for 4 runs in cricket, so maybe that's what happened. So, Rohit became the third India centurion, which means I think he scored 100 runs, so I guess Rohit was the batsman all along, and when Shaminda "extracted" that "thick outside edge" from him, maybe this was like a foul ball that our budd Thisara dropped? Either way, it is clear that he was greatly reprieved.
And then it hit me: So this is how Shannon feels when I start talking about sports. I'm sure Shannon will agree that that paragraph wouldn't have been any more incomprehensible to her if it were about the triple option, dime coverage, illegal defense, pick and rolls, icing, or a wide out failing to cover the end of the line.
Luckily, I have a friend from Sri Lanka. He explained everything to me. Unfortunately, I still don't understand anything about cricket. So now he knows what I feel like after explaining all these things to Shannon. ;)