Bangladesh claim their maiden World Cup win over Sri Lanka
Bangladesh claimed their second win of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup after beating Sri Lanka in Delhi. Although the match went down to the wire, they managed to chase down 280, with Shakib Al Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto leading their charge. A 108-run knock from Sri Lanka's Charith Asalanka went in vain. Notably, Bangladesh have claimed their maiden WC win over SL.
Ton-up Asalanka guides SL to 279
SL lost opener Kusal Perera early after Bangladesh elected to field. Although Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka did well, they fell before the 100-run mark. Sadeera Samarawickrama and Asalanka then took the Lankans past 130. Mathews followed Samarawickrama with a controversial dismissal. Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Maheesh Theekshana took SL past 250. SL perished for 279, with Tanzim Hasan Sakib taking three wickets.
Bangladesh complete the chase despite faltering
Bangladesh openers Tanzid Hasan and Litton Das departed in the first Powerplay. However, Shanto and Shakib made the chase one-sided with a century-plus stand. Mathews brought SL back in the hunt by dismissing Shanto and Shakib on consecutive balls. Suddenly, SL were down to 255/6 from 210/2. Bangladesh kept their cool to get home in the 42nd over. Dilshan Madushanka took three wickets.
Shakib leads Bangladesh from the front
Shakib came to the middle after Bangladesh were reduced to 41/2. They had lost both Tanzid and Litton. Shakib, who endured a lean patch before this match, kept on playing his strokes. Together, Shakib and Shanto took Bangladesh past 200. The former slammed 82 off 65 balls, a knock laced with 12 fours and 2 sixes. It was his 56th ODI fifty.
Third-most fifty-plus scores in ODI WCs
Shakib has 13 fifty-plus scores in ODI World Cups, now the third-most after India's Sachin Tendulkar (21) and Virat Kohli (14). The Bangladesh skipper broke a tie with Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara (12) and India's Rohit Sharma (12) in this regard. Shakib has 11 fifties and two tons in the tournament. Both these centuries came in the 2019 edition.
Angelo Mathews's dismissal was a talking point
Sri Lankan all-rounder Mathews was involved in a bizarre dismissal in the 25th over. Mathews was timed out after Bangladesh skipper Shakib appealed for the same. As per the rules, the incoming batter should be out in the middle within three minutes of the last dismissal. However, the ongoing WC is following a two-minute limit.
Here's what happened in the middle
Mathews walked into the field within the stipulated two minutes, but the helmet replacement was the reason for the delay. Upon taking strike, he seemed to have had some issues with his helmet strap. While Mathews received a new helmet, Bangladesh appealed for timed out as the former couldn't face his first ball within two minutes. Mathews couldn't convince the umpires and departed.
First-ever timed-out dismissal in international cricket
According to ESPNcricinfo, this was the first-ever timed-out dismissal in international cricket (men or women). Before this match, this happened only six times in any format, with each of these coming First-Class cricket.
Fourth-best figures for Bangladesh on WC debut
Tanzim's 3/80 are now the fourth-best bowling figures for Bangladesh on World Cup debut. He is only behind Mahedi Hasan (4/71 vs England, Dharamsala, 2023), Abdur Razzak (3/38 vs India, Port of Spain, 2007), and Mustafizur Rahman (3/67 vs South Africa, The Oval, 2019). However, Tanzim has the second-best figures on World Cup debut among Bangladesh pacers.
Shanto smashed a 101-ball 90
Shanto joined Litton in the middle after Hasan departed for just 14 runs on the board. Although Litton departed soon, Shanto's partnership with Shakib took the match away from Sri Lanka. The former went on to smash 90 off 101 balls, a knock laced with 12 fours. This was his best score in ODI World Cups. Shanto has two half-centuries in the tournament.
Shanto completes 1,000 ODI runs
While batting in the chase, Shanto attained another feat. He became the 24th Bangladesh batter to accomplish 1,000 runs in ODI cricket. He reached the feat with his fifth run during the chase. Shanto has been impressive in the 50-over format. He reached the 1,000-run mark in 37 ODI innings. He now has nine 50+ scores in the format (two tons).
A historic win for Bangladesh
As mentioned, Bangladesh have defeated Sri Lanka for the first time in ODI World Cups. Before this match, the former had lost each of their previous three encounters to the Lankans in the tournament. Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh in 2003, 2007, and 2015. The World Cup encounter between the two sides in 2019 was abandoned.
