Bangladesh scored an incredible come-from-behind win against Sri Lanka in a virtual semi-final of the Nidahas Trophy in Colombo on Friday, but the victory was marred by ugly scenes – on and off the field – towards the end of the match. The Tigers will take on India in the final on Sunday.
Chasing 160 for victory, Mahmudullah Riyad steered Bangladesh home with a six on the penultimate ball but not before a heated exchange of words between the players of the two sides.
Drama unfolded when Mustafizur Rahman missed two bouncers from Isuru Udana in the final over and was run out but the Bangladesh players contested the call, saying it was a no ball due to its height. Bangladesh’s substitute Nurul Hasan, who was on the field carrying drinks, then exchanged a few words with the Sri Lankans, including Thisara Perera.
Skipper Shakib Al Hasan looked furious on the boundary and even looked to be waving to his batsmen to return to the pavilion. But sanity prevailed at R Premadasa stadium and the match went on, fortunately for Bangladesh considering how it ended.
When Mahmudullah hit the winning runs, the Bangladeshis in the dugout rushed onto the field and sparked wild celebrations, including Shakib taking off his shirt and waving it – a la Sourav Ganguly and Andrew Flintoff. There was also a heated exchange between Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis and Bangladesh’s Sabbir Rahman, ironically during the post-match handshakes, reported the Dhaka Tribune.
After the match ended, Bangladesh players were also accused of unruly celebrations by the ground staff at the stadium after a glass shutter was found broken in their dressing room. The team did not respond to the allegations, but journalists present said that the International Cricket Council would be investigating the matter.
This is the state of the Bangladesh dressing-room at Premadasa. Local sources at the ground confirm damage but are not yet releasing the name of the player who did the damage. #nidahastrophy2018 @ICC will definitely be taking a closer look. pic.twitter.com/U3CKOpgPnR
— Anand Vasu (@anandvasu) March 16, 2018
ICC inquiry underway into the incidents occurred during Sri Lanka - Bangladesh Nidahas trophy T20I match at R Premadasa stadium yesterday
— Azzam Ameen (@AzzamAmeen) March 17, 2018
Twitter soon got talking about the unruly scenes, with most people condemning Shakib and Bangladesh’s behaviour. Mahmudullah, however, came in for some praise for pushing for the match to continue despite his skipper seemingly wanting the batsmen to return to the pavilion.
The Bangladesh players, especially their captain, should have been much, much smarter and calmer. Full marks to Mahmudullah for cutting through all the bullshit emotional breakdowns and hitting that winning six.
— Mohammad Isam (@Isam84) March 16, 2018
Furthermore, there is no place in cricket for bad behaviour, and it is a pity that Bangladesh have also engaged into this without a lot of prompting on-field.
— Mohammad Isam (@Isam84) March 16, 2018
A: Cannot keep calm under pressure. Almost calls his team off and concedes defeat.
— Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) March 17, 2018
B: Stays calm, controls adrenaline rush, knows he has a job in hand, finishes it.
Who is your ideal captain?
A or B?
Shakib or Mahmudullah?
Choose wisely, Bangladesh.#SLvBAN#NidahasTrophy
Not impressed by Shakib’s instincts as captain & leader. Wanting to call his players off the field because of umpiring decisions. Nearly denied Bangladesh one of their greatest wins.#NidahasOnDSport
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) March 16, 2018
Funnily Khaled Mahmood the manager of Bangladesh team supposed to be the more mature statesman like member of the team was even more fired up than Shakib & more keen to get players off.🤔
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) March 16, 2018
You have won the game. You have a problem with officials. At least shake hands with the opposition!!! #NidahasTrophy2018
— Amol Karhadkar (@karhacter) March 16, 2018
Courtney Walsh is the kind of cricketer who declined to run out the non-striker backing out of the crease because he thought it unsportsmanlike. He will be deeply ashamed of the behaviour of the team he is now coaching. #NidahasTrophy2018 #SLvBAN
— Anand Vasu (@anandvasu) March 16, 2018
And it gets pettier and pettier. For all their talent, Bangladesh really need someone like a MS Dhoni-character as captain to really get the best out of them.https://t.co/jrzJ4l3IEH
— Angikaar Choudhury (@AngikaarC) March 17, 2018
T20 tempers spoil spirit o Crkt hugely in an otherwise stunning win fr B’Desh...fr good 10 minutes almost it appeared no authority was InControl of the game & even after B’Desh settled the issue o winning much left to be desired to restore Crkt’s etiquettes..!!
— Bishan Bedi (@BishanBedi) March 16, 2018
Such disgrace. Bangladesh #BANvSL
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) March 16, 2018
Once you’ve won you’ve won. There’s no need to mock anyone like a school team. This is professional international cricket and Bangladesh need to rise above these antics.
— Pranay Parab (@prawnay) March 16, 2018
So India to play with Bangladesh feelings in the final.
— Vipul Goyal (@HumorouslyVipul) March 16, 2018
Shakib came in for more flak because of some remarks he made during the post-match press conference.
...We Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans are used to having a lot of spice in our food. It is better to have this spice but only on the ground. Not outside the ground."
— Mohammad Isam (@Isam84) March 16, 2018
Not hearing the word ‘Sorry’ in Shakib’s post match reactions about his behaviour. Disappointing.
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) March 17, 2018
It wasn’t long before Twitterati urged the ICC to sanction Bangladesh as it had South African pacer Kagiso Rabada for appearing to shoulder an opposition batsman.
All eyes on you @ICC. Let's see how many demerit points have you got for Bangladesh. pic.twitter.com/DOycR9bznO
— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh) March 16, 2018
How many demerit points today? Many more than in South Africa I would imagine!
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 16, 2018
How deliciously ironic would it be if the Bangladesh players who are sanctioned get three demerit points, and then there's an umpiring howler in the final. And because of the demerit points, the players can't protest like they want to...
— Saurabh Somani (@saurabh_42) March 16, 2018
Well won, Bangladesh, but the drama was uncalled for.
— Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) March 16, 2018
This was way, way worse than what Rabada did.
I hope ICC are really harsh with demerit points this time.#SLvBAN
Dear #ICC you banned #KagisoRabada the other day, what plans with the #Bangladesh side for such poor behavior. This is a terrible endorsement and advertisement of the gentleman's game! #SLvsBAN #BanvSL #MKV
— CricfitWithMKV (@MikkhailVaswani) March 16, 2018
With inputs from AFP