The Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka World Cup game at the Arun Jaitley Stadium was all about Delhi’s hazardous air until veteran campaigner Shakib al Hasan made a controversial call, that invoked the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ and predictably didived opinions. The move literally caught Angelo Mathews off-guard. The seasoned Lankan all-rounder was ‘Timed-out’ after his helmet strap broke and instead of taking guard to face his first ball within the given time frame he went ahead and asked for a change in helmet. But the time substitute Chamika Karunartane brought in the spare helmet, but, the time had run out by then, and for the first time in international cricket, a batter was out ‘Timed out’.
Shakib quietly waited right behind umpire Marais Erasmus and after a 2-minute halt, he appealed for ‘time out’. As per the MCC’s Law of Cricket, a batter has 3 minutes from the time of the dismissal of the previous batter to take guard, but as per the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Playing conditions, that time is only 2 minutes and the latter took precedence over former. And since it was within the laws of the game, the on-field officials couldn’t deny ruling Mathews out despite unending explanations from the allrounder. Sri Lanka lost a crucial wicket, the incident took over social media. Mathews did not forget about the incident, and neither did the Sri Lanka team — what was forgotten though was the blanket of the thick smoggy haze that remained a constant throughout the match.
Shanto, Shakib beat Delhi’s smog
Post sunset, the smog cover looked denser under the floodlights. It was then Bangladesh went out for the chase of 281 and after losing both openers within 7 overs, Shakib and Najmul Hasan Shanto took the matter on their own hands. Decimating the new batting pair would have helped the Lankans to contain Bangladesh and leave Delhi with some good memories. However, the left-handers in green had different plans.
Shakib and Shanto began the rebuilding work from 41 for 2 in 6.2 overs. The start was slow but steady – reading the pitch, understanding the conditions and making the shot selection wisely. The next 10 overs were testing for Bangladesh when there was a massive gap between the number of runs scored and the balls faced.
Come the 16th over, Shakib hammered back-to-back boundaries to Maheesh Theekshana while Shanto followed his captain’s footmarks while facing Rajitha in the 18th. They started breaking the shackles link by link to keep the scoreboard ticking.
The 21st over saw Shanto getting his 7th ODI fifty and a few balls later, the duo brought up the 100-run partnership for the third wicket. And once the Bangladesh skipper got his fifty, the game started drifting away from Sri Lanka’s grip.
Mathews, the wounded lion, seeks revenge
For Bangladesh, an 8-wicket win was on the cards until Angelo Mathews, the wounded former Lankan skipper, returned after the second drinks break with his second spell. First ball, a slower off-cutter, and Shakib got a leading edge and Charith Asalanka took a diving catch onto the practice pitch at short mid-off.
A resilient 169-run partnership was broken and the Bangladesh supporters turned silent, Shakib was frustrated for being out on 82 but Mathews was a happy man. He gave a ‘timed-out’ send-off to the Bangladesh skipper, tapping on his wrist with an eerie smile on his face. He had sought his revenge.
Mathews didn’t just stop there. Losing Shakib hit the Bangla camp a tad hard as even Shanto seemed to have lost his focus, adding just one run to his individual score post-captain’s dismissal. Mathews took him down as well.
In his very next over, Mathews bowled a length ball with a scrambled seam. Shanto looked to dab that behind the wicket but ended up chopping onto the stumps and headed back to the hut after scoring 90 runs off 101 balls.
Suspense Galore
Losing both set batters in Shanto and Shakib had already left the Bangladesh camp with pounding hearts. A pair of veteran batters in Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah looked to finish things off but there was more suspense on offer. After all, it was the last World Cup in Delhi that has witnessed some mind-boggling contests. How this one could have been different.
With 30 runs required, Bangladesh lost three wickets in a matter of 3 overs. Madushanka cleaned up Rahim while Theekshana knocked over Mahmudullah and then got Mehidy Hasan Miraz caught by Chareeth Asalanka.
Lower order comes to the fore
Unlike their previous games, the lower order held its nerves, acted wisely and let the Lankans commit mistakes. A leg bye in Theekshana’s penultimate over left Bangladesh with three to win and Mathews’ wide followed by a boundary handed Bangladesh their second win of the edition. Shakib & Co finished the chase of 280 with three wickets and 53 balls to spare, jumping up to the seventh spot on the table and, more importantly, keeping their 2025 Champions Trophy qualification hopes alive.
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