‘Sri Lanka… Sri Lanka…’ chants gripped the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday when the Sri Lankan batters were dealing in boundaries in the national capital. Angelo Mathews’ rarest of the rare dismissal hogged the limelight on a gloomy Delhi evening until Charith Asalanka stole the show with a scintillating hundred against Bangladesh. Moreover, his presence in two out of three fifty-plus partnerships strengthened the Lankan innings – 280 all-out in 49.3 overs, keeping them on course for their 4th win against Bangladesh in World Cups.
It was Asalanka’s first hundred in the ongoing World Cup 2023. His 108-run knock off 105 balls consisted 6 boundaries and 5 classy maximums – the most number of sixes smashed by a Lankan batter in this game. He also became the third Lankan batter to get a hundred in World Cups while batting at no. 5 or below. Mahela Jayawardene (100) was the first player to do so in 2015 against Afghanistan followed by Angelo Mathews (108) against India in 2019.
The Partnerships:
Pathum Nissanka-Kusal Mendis: 61 runs for second wicket
Pathum Nissanka led the charge after a brilliant flying catch sent Kusal Perera packing in the first over. The former shifted gears while the skipper – Kusal Mendis – played the second fiddle. With the help of 8 boundaries, Nissanka made a brilliant 41 off 36 before getting cleaned up by Tanzim Hasan Sakib in the 12th over.
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Sadeera Samarwickrama-Charith Asalanka: 63 runs for 4th wicket
Once Nissanka was back in the hut, Samarwickrama and Asalanka launched an assault on Sakib’s bowling attack. Starting from scratch, the duo rebuilt the innings and played every ball to its merit. For instance, Samarwickrama sweeping Sakib’s flighted delivery for a one-bounce four in the 25th over. The very next ball, he shimmied down the line to clear the fence but holed it to Mahmudullah at deep mid-wicket. He went back with a 42-ball 41, including 4 boundaries.
Asalanka – Dhananjaya de Silva – 78 runs for
Asalanka played a cracking pull shot (one of the many in his innings) off Tanzim Hasan in the 31st over to bring his 11th ODI fifty. On the other hand, Dhananjaya tried matching his partner’s momentum with some brave shots, especially the pull against short balls. In the 37th over, the right-hand batter latched on to a Sakib al Hasan delivery and cleared the deep mid-wicket fence with a 75m six to get a pat on his back from Nissanka. His almost run-al-ball innings was cut short by Mushfiqur Rahim’s brilliant glove work, handing a wicket to Mehidy Hasan Miraj.
Clever Shakib Robs Helpless Mathews
Sri Lanka’s bitter-sweet bond with Kotla (now Arun Jaitley Stadium) got another twist on Monday when Angelo Mathews found himself in an unexplainable, rather forgettable, situation. The veteran all-rounder walked in to bat at no. 6, after Bangladesh skipper Shakib al Hasan had the better of Sadeera Samarwickrama (41) to break the 63-run partnership for the 4th wicket. Mathews arrived in the middle and before he could face the first ball, the strap of his helmet broke leading to something that had never happened in the 146-year-old history of international cricket.
Mathews wanted to get his helmet changed but he didn’t know the incident would take him to the history books. As he signalled to the dressing room for another helmet, Bangladesh skipper Shakib al Hasan went to Marais Erasmus to appeal for ‘timed out’. Shakib’s appeal seemed to have jolted Mathews to the core as he was seen pleading his case to the umpire and the Bangladesh skipper as well. The drama continued for several minutes before the Sri Lankan all-rounder walked off without facing a ball, becoming the first-ever cricketer to be given ‘timed out’ in international cricket.
Mathew’s agony didn’t go unnoticed
A fuming Angelo Mathews threw away his helmet as he headed back to the Virat Kohli Pavilion. He kept on explaining his case to coach Chris Silverwood who was equally furious over what had panned out on the field. But nothing could have been done by then.
What do the ICC guideline say?
Rule 40.1: After the fall of a wicket or the retirement of a batter, the incoming batter must, unless Time has been called, be ready to receive the ball or for the other batter to be ready to receive the next ball within 2 minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out, Timed out.
Rule 40.1.2: In the event of an extended delay in which no batter comes to the wicket, the umpires shall adopt the procedure of clause 16.2 (ICC Match Referee awarding a match). For the purposes of that clause the start of the action shall be taken as the expiry of the 2 minutes referred to above.
40.2: The bowler does not get credit for the wicket.
‘Not good for the spirit of the game’
Centurion Asalanka didn’t like the way Shakib appealed for Mathews’ Dismissal. Speaking with the broadcasters after his gritty knock, he said,
“My point of view it’s not good for the spirit of the game. After that, Dhananjaya came and we had a good partnership.”
“I love to have a partnership with Dhananjaya because he is a right-hander and I’m a left-hander and he always scores quickly. Credit should go to the pitches because we can hit the ball through the line. When I was batting, I was looking for 300 but unfortunately, I got out in the 49th over. But, I think we have got enough,” he added.
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