 "The Sri Lankan players point at their wrists while posing with the trophy won at the end of the T20I series against Bangladesh. Image credit: X/@OfficialSLC")
The cricketing rivalry between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh might not be as historic as the ones between Australia and England or between India and Pakistan, but certainly is among the fiercest in the current era. Not only are matches between the two subcontinental teams closely fought affairs more often than not, they often end up having a go at one another on the field. Whether through confrontations or in the form of animated celebrations, with fans adding fuel to the on-field fire from time to time.
The ‘Naagin Dance’ had been popularised by the Bangladesh cricket team and has since become associated with their rivalry with the Sri Lankans. More recently, it’s the ‘Timed Out’ controversy from last year’s ICC World Cup that has now made its way into the on-field theatrics.
On Sunday, during the series-deciding third T20I in Sylhet, the Sri Lankan players made sure their opponents knew they hadn’t forgotten about the controversial incident in New Delhi last November by pointing at their wrists after pulling off a 28-run victory .
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Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, expectedly, wasn’t too impressed with the celebrations.
“There is nothing to handle aggressively when it comes to this. I think they are yet to move on from the timed out dismissal. They should move on and stay in the present since we didn’t do anything which outside the rules of cricket. I think they are making a fuss of it, but we are not worried about it,” Shanto said after the match.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIt’s worth noting, however, that the Sri Lankans didn’t start the ‘Timed Out’ celebrations in the T20I series against Bangladesh. Tigers pacer Shoriful Islam had rekindled memories of the incident with the celebration after dismissing Avishka Fernando in the first T20I on Monday.
Senior all-rounder Angelo Mathews had been dismissed ‘Timed Out’ for failing to take guard for the first delivery on time during Sri Lanka’s league stage match against Bangladesh in Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Explained: Why Angelo Mathews was dismissed ‘Timed Out’ during BAN-SL World Cup game
Mathews’ helmet strap broke just as he was about to face his first delivery, and called for a change of helmet when Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan made an appeal asking for a ‘Timed Out’ dismissal, which was ultimately upheld by the umpires. Shakib would refuse to withdraw his appeal, and the incident would soon blow out of proportion.
Bangladesh would go on to win that match by three wickets, though both teams would ultimately fail to reach the semi-finals.
Sri Lanka had won the tour opener in thrilling fashion, pulling off a three-run victory while defending a score of 206. Bangladesh, however, would bounce back in style with a commanding eight-wicket win two days later with nearly two overs to spare.
On Saturday, Kusal Mendis’ aggressive 86 off 55 deliveries propelled the islanders to a competitive 174/7. Bangladesh, in reply, were staring at an embarrassing defeat after getting reduced to 32/6 in the ninth over before a late half-century from Rishad Hossain (53 off 30 balls) along with Taskin Ahmed’s 21-ball 31 helped the hosts finish at a more respectable 146. Nuwan Thushara led the way among the Lankan bowlers with a haul of 5/20 that included a hat-trick.
Sri Lanka are scheduled to face Bangladesh in three ODIs after the T20I series followed by two Tests.