In the history of international cricket, the Sri Lankan veteran batsman Angelo Mathews timed out dismissal became the first of its kind in international cricket. This incident occurred during the 38th match of the ICC World Cup 2023, which was being played between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on Monday. On this matter, former cricket players and experts are divided into two camps, with one side sympathizing with Angelo Mathews, and the other side giving special kudos to the correct decision as per the rule book of cricket.
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The old rivalry
The rivalry between the Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi cricket teams is quite old, and whenever these two teams face each other, they play with great intensity to win. However, after this incident, there is significant controversy surrounding the Bangladeshi team and the world-renowned all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan for how they allegedly went against the spirit of cricket to gain an unfair advantage in order to win the match.
Angelo Mathews timed out dismissal
This incident occurred during the 24th over when Shakib Al Hasan bowled a delivery to Sadeera Samarawickrama on which he got caught out. Sri Lanka was at a score of 135 for 4 wickets in 24.2 overs. After this, Angelo Mathews came to the crease to bat. While adjusting his helmet, the strap on his helmet broke. Angelo Mathews signaled for another helmet from his dugout, which took some time. Shakib Al Hasan accused batsmen taking more than 2 minutes to face the next ball, leading to a time-out appeal, which left the umpire surprised.
Shakib refused to retrieve appeal
After that, the umpire informed Angelo Mathews about it, and he was also quite surprised. He talked to Shakib Al Hasan about it and showed his helmet, explaining that the strap had broken, causing him to take some time. Angelo requested Shakib to retrieve his appeal. However, Shakib Al Hasan refused to accept any of his explanations, upon which the umpires made the final decision and declared Angelo Mathews timed out without playing a ball, and Sri Lanka’s score was now 135 for 5 in 24.2 overs.
Bangladesh chased it easily
Sri Lanka got allout for 279 runs in 49.3 while batting first, and in response, Bangladesh easily won the match with a loss of only 7 wickets in just 41.1 overs. Captain Shakib Al Hasan(82) and Najmul Shanto(90) were the top run-scorers for Bangladesh, helping them complete the Run chase with ease.Charith Asalanka’s excellent innings of 108 runs couldn’t help Sri Lanka win this match.
Man of the match
Captain Shakib Al Hasan’s splendid innings of 82 runs and his exceptional performance in bowling, where he also took two wickets, earned him the “Man of the Match” award. Although there was some controversy over Angelo Mathews timed out dismissal, many cricket experts were not pleased with Shakib Al Hasan’s appeal, but due to his performance, not only did he receive the “Man of the Match” award, but his team also won the match quite comfortably.
Scorecard of Sri Lanka
BATTING | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | Strike Rate |
Pathum Nissanka b Tanzim | 41 | 36 | 8 | 0 | 113.88 |
Kusal Perera c Mushfiqr b Islam | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 80.00 |
Kusal Mendis(c) c Islam b Shakib | 19 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 63.33 |
S.Samarawickrama c Mahumudullah b Shakib | 41 | 42 | 4 | 0 | 97.61 |
Charith Asalanka c litton b Tanzim | 108 | 105 | 6 | 5 | 102.85 |
Angelo Mathews Timed out | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dhananjaya de silva st Mushfiqur b Mehidy | 34 | 36 | 4 | 1 | 94.44 |
Maheesh Theekshana c sub Nasum b Islam | 21 | 31 | 3 | 0 | 67.74 |
Dushmantha Chameera run out mushfiqur | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 44.44 |
Kasun Rajitha c Litton b Tanzim | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Dilshan Madhushanka not out | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Total | 279 | 49.2 Overs | Run Rate:5.63 |
Scorecard of Bangladesh
BATTING | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | Strike Rate |
Tanzid Hasan c Nissanka b Madushanka | 9 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 180.00 |
Litton Das lbw b Madushanka | 23 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 104.54 |
Najum Shanto b Mathews | 90 | 101 | 12 | 0 | 89.10 |
Shakib Al Hasan(c) c Asalanka b Mathews | 82 | 65 | 12 | 2 | 126.15 |
Mahmudullah b Theekshana | 22 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 95.65 |
Mushfiqur Rahim b Madushanka | 10 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 76.92 |
Towhid Hridoy not out | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 214.28 |
Mehidy Hasan c Asalanka b Theekshana | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 60.00 |
Tanzim Hasan not out | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 83.33 |
Taskin Ahmed Did not bat | - | - | - | - | 0.00 |
Shoriful Islam Did not bat | - | - | - | - | 0.00 |
Total | 282/7 | 41.1 Overs | Run Rate:6.85 |
Angelo Mathews timed out dismissal is first of its kind in international cricket , sparking prolonged discussions among cricket experts. However, from a sportsmanship perspective, Shakib Al Hasan’s appeal against the spirit of the game, especially since the issue with Angelo Mathews’ helmet was related to a safety concern. Considering the helmet is crucial equipment for safety, if there was a slight delay in changing it, it should have been overlooked. What are your thoughts on this? Please comment.