By Amlan Chakraborty
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan triggered a debate on the spirit of cricket before smashing a rapid 82 in their three-wicket victory against 1996 champions Sri Lanka, who were eliminated from the 50-overs World Cup on Monday.
The all-rounder collaborated in a 169-run stand with Najmul Hossain Shanto (90) to help Bangladesh chase down a 280-run victory target in 41.1 overs.
Charith Asalanka’s 108 underpinned Sri Lanka’s 279 all out after they were put into bat by Shakib, who was in the eye of a storm on an eventful day.
It was Shakib’s appeal that led to Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews becoming the first player to be ‘timed out’ in an international match.
Put into bat, Sri Lanka lost Kusal Perera in the first over when Bangladesh wicketkeeper Mushfiquir Rahim flew to his left to grab a one-handed blinder in front of the first slip.
Pathum Nissanka (41) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (41) could not convert the starts but Asalanka smashed five sixes and six fours in his second ODI century to help Sri Lanka post a competitive total.
Nearly 20,000 spectators witnessed drama at the halfway stage of the Sri Lankan innings when Mathews walked out to bat after Samarawickrama’s exit.
After the chinstrap of his helmet broke, Mathews waited for a new helmet to arrive before facing Shakib, but was adjudged ‘timed out’ after failing to take strike within the stipulated two minutes.
Bangladesh lost both openers inside seven overs but Shakib and Shanto put their chase back on track.
Mathews denied Shakib a hundred, and tapped his wrist in a send-off as if to tell the Bangladesh captain it was his time to go.
Shanto missed out on a hundred too but Sri Lanka still succumbed to their sixth defeat in eight matches.
Following the team’s poor performance in the tournament, the entire Sri Lankan board was sacked and replaced with an interim committee earlier on Monday.
The prevailing filthy air in New Delhi was the talking point ahead of the match between the Asian sides.
The air quality index (AQI) near the Arun Jaitley Stadium read close to 400 on Monday noon triggering speculation that the match might get delayed if not cancelled altogether.
An AQI of 0-50 is considered good while anything between 400-500 affects healthy people and is considered a danger to those with existing diseases.
Both teams had cancelled a training session in the buildup, and on Sunday, asthmatic Bangladesh cricketers remained indoors while Sri Lankan players wore masks.
Organisers installed air purifiers in the players’ dressing rooms while water sprinklers were used to reduce pollutants in the air.
New Delhi has stood on top of a real-time list of the world’s most polluted cities compiled by Swiss group, forcing the local government to extend the closure of primary schools until Nov. 10.
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Miral Fahmy and Christian Radnedge)
