Bangladesh on Monday defeated Sri Lanka by three wickets in a thrilling match during the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, India, knocking the Icelanders out of the mega cricketing event.
Bangladesh’s skipper Shakib Al Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto orchestrated their team’s second victory in the tournament, forging a pivotal 169-run partnership that helped them get close to the 280-run target, which was eventually chased in 41.1 overs.
The presence of dew on the outfield made it exceedingly challenging for the Islanders to defend the target, hampering their ability to take wickets.
In the 32nd over, Angelo Mathews dismissed Shakib for 82 runs and celebrated by gesturing towards an imaginary watch in reference to an incident from the earlier innings.
Shakib’s dismissal triggered a rapid succession of wickets for the Tigers, momentarily suggesting a potential resurgence for the Islanders. However, Towhid Hridoy ultimately secured the win for Bangladesh.
Following three prior defeats against Sri Lanka, this victory marked Bangladesh’s first win over the Islanders in World Cup history. Batting first, Sri Lanka faced an early setback with Kusal Parera departing on the last ball of the first over, leaving the team at 5-1.
Skipper Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka then steadied the innings, constructing a 61-run partnership after the initial loss.
Mendis contributed 19 runs before losing his wicket, while Nissanka fell short of his fifty, dismissed by Tanzim Hasan Sakib after scoring 41 runs.
With the team at 72-3 in 12.4 overs, Sri Lanka faced a challenging phase until another 63-run partnership offered respite.
After Sadeera Samarawickrama lost his wicket in the 25th over, an incident occurred as the veteran Angelo Mathews came to bat and became the first-ever batter to be timed out in the history of cricket.
Mathews was ready to take strike when the strap of his helmet broke. The former Sri Lanka captain called for a new helmet and while that wait ensued, Shakib appealed with the umpires consequently ruling the batter timed out.
Following this unfortunate event, Charith Asalanka displayed remarkable resilience, scoring a century that propelled his team to a total of 279 runs.
Asalanka’s remarkable innings saw him scoring 108 runs off 105 balls, including 11 boundaries, six fours, and five sixes. He received support from Dhananjaya de Silva, who contributed 34 runs, and Maheesh Theekshana, who added 21 runs to the total.
