New Delhi, 6th November 2023: The 38th match of the ICC ODI Cricket World Cup 2023 held at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi witnessed a clash between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, offering an entertaining encounter. In a predominantly one-sided contest, Bangladesh emerged victorious with a 3-wicket win.
Opting to field first after winning the toss, Bangladesh put Sri Lanka in to bat. The Sri Lankan opening pair of Kusal Perera and captain Kusal Mendis struggled to make a significant impact. However, Pathum Nissanka, the second opener, showed promise by scoring 41 off 36 balls before falling to Tanzim Hasan Sakib. Sadeera Samarawickrama also contributed with 41 off 42 balls before being caught by Mahmudullah off Shakib Al Hasan’s delivery.
Nonetheless, the standout performance of the match came from Charith Asalanka, who played a brilliant century, accumulating 108 runs off 105 balls before being caught by Liton Das off Tanzim Hasan Sakib’s delivery. With valuable contributions from Dhananjaya de Silva and Maheesh Theekshana, Sri Lanka managed to post a total of 279 runs but was all out by the end of the 50th over.
The most notable incident of the Sri Lankan innings involved Angelo Mathews. In the 25th over of Sri Lanka’s innings, Angelo Mathews was dismissed in a rare “time out” dismissal. According to the rules, a batter can be given out via “time out” if they are not ready to face the bowler within three minutes from the fall of a wicket. Angelo Mathews, the former Sri Lankan captain, took more than 3 minutes to get into his batting position due to issues with his helmet. Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan requested a review, leading to Angelo Mathews’ dismissal without facing a single ball. This marked the first instance of such a dismissal in international cricket.
In the bowling department, Tanzim Hasan Sakib stood out for Bangladesh, claiming three wickets in his 10 overs, although he conceded 80 runs. Shoriful Islam and captain Shakib Al Hasan secured two wickets each, while Mehidy Hasan took one.
In pursuit of a target of 280 runs, Bangladesh faced a challenging start. However, Najmul Hossain Shanto played a pivotal role, scoring 90 off 101 balls before being bowled out by Angelo Mathews. Captain Shakib Al Hasan contributed 82 runs off 65 balls before being caught by Charith Asalanka off Angelo Mathews’ delivery. With modest contributions from other batsmen, Bangladesh managed to secure a victory by 3 wickets in the 42nd over with 53 balls remaining.
While both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have slim hopes of qualifying for the World Cup knockouts, the unique Angelo Mathews incident added an element of entertainment to the tournament. In the upcoming 39th ODI, Australia is set to face Afghanistan at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
