What transpired at the Premadasa stadium yesterday was a blot on the gentleman’s game, an incident that should be dealt with severely, an incident that shouldn’t be repeated on a cricket field.
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With Bangladesh requiring 12 of 4 balls to reach the final of the Nidahas trophy, Udana banged the ball short into the deck and Mustafizur, who was in no position to pull the ball, missed it completely and the Bangladeshi speedster was run-out as Mahumudullah tried to steal a single.
The aftermath of that dismissal provided cricket fans all over the world with some very ugly scenes, as Shakib Al Hasan instructed the Bangladeshi batsmen to walk off the field as the Bangladesh camp felt that they had been denied two no-balls during the final over(as the ball were close to head high).
An umpiring decision had led to Shakib take this drastic step of rushing out from the dugout, involving any and every authority that was near the boundary line and vehemently signalling to the Bangladeshi batsman to walk off the field.
Better sense prevailed, and the batsmen decided to stay on, with Mahumudullah taking Bangladesh to an unprecedented win, setting a date with India on Sunday for the Nidahas Trophy.
In the post match press conference, Shakib conceded that the leg umpire had raised his arm, signalling for a no-ball but had later brought it down, denying Bangladesh of a free hit.
However, he did accept the fact that such kind of behaviour wasn’t appropriate on the cricket field and that all players will need to make special efforts to ensure that nothing of this sort happens ever again.
“You can’t expect more than that in a T20 game. There was everything. Emotions, drama, everything. We are lucky to be on the winning side. Kusal Perera and Thisara Perera batted very well, got themselves into a winning position. I had only one hit before I came into the game, so I knew I wasn’t 100%. It was important to rotate the strike and give it to Mahmudullah. This is one of our best innings in the last five overs. We always had a healthy competition on the ground (with Sri Lanka); outside, we are friends. Emotions take over sometimes. I need to be careful as the captain and the leader of the team. India are a very good side but we have the momentum, so hopefully we can continue the performance. Hopefully the Sri Lankan crowd can come and support us (laughs innocently).” Shakib said.
