Bangladesh officially knocked out Sri Lanka from the ICC World Cup 2023 on Monday after registering a 3-wicket victory in a fiery contest played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Chasing a challenging target of 280 for victory, Bangladesh rode on a 169-run partnership between Najmul Hossain Shanto and captain Shakib Al Hasan to cross the finish line with 55 balls to spare in the national capital of India.
Shanto & Shakib's match-winning partnership
Shanto and Shakib both missed out on their hundreds but their third-wicket stand ensured that the Bangla Tigers scraped through to victory despite a late collapse in the match.
.jpg)
Shanto top-scored with 90 off 101 balls while Shakib made 82 to script Bangladesh's second win of the tournament and their highest successful run chase against Sri Lanka in ODI cricket.
Angelo Mathews 'timed out'
But Bangladesh's performance was overshadowed by a controversial moment in the first innings when Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews became the first batter in international cricket to be timed out.
Mathews failed to face his first delivery within the stipulated two minutes due to issues with his helmet which resulted in him getting dismissed without facing a ball. Shakib refused to withdraw his appeal and faced backlash from the cricketing fraternity.
All-round Shakib shines
But the controversy aside, Shakib's all-rounder performance with bat and ball helped his team overcome a brilliant century from Charith Asalanka which powered the Lankans to 279 in 49.3 overs
Asalanka top-scored with 108, his second ODI hundred in his maiden World Cup, but the rest of the Lankan batters failed to convert their starts into big scores which led to their downfall.
Tanzim Hasan Shakib bagged 3 for 80 while Shakib and Shoriful Islam took 2 wickets each for Bangladesh.
