The controversy, which started in the last over of yesterday’s match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the must-win clash of the Nidahas Trophy 2018, has gone uglier.
Just after Bangladesh won the match by two wickets and entered in the finals of the tournament, a glass door was shattered by someone in Bangladesh’s dressing room.
According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Chris Broad has seen the CCTV footage and spoken with the catering staff about the incident and they have told him about the person responsible for the incident.
Earlier, Shakib al Hasan called his players from the ground after they thought that the on-field umpire had given a wrong decision.
The high voltage drama happened in the second innings’ last over when Shakib Al Hasan’s squad needed just 12 runs to beat the Islanders.
Lankan bowler Isuru Udana had started the over with two short-deliveries in which Mustafizur was sent back to the pavilion on the second ball.
Thereafter, the Bangladesh squad thought that the square leg umpire had given the second bowl a no-ball, which the umpire didn’t give. And the rest is history.
Not just Shakib called back his players from the ground, even the substitute fielders of Bangladesh were seen in a verbal fight with Sri Lankan captain Thisara Perera.
Chasing 160, Bangladesh started off on a bad note as they lost opener Liton Das (0) and Sabbir Rahman (13) in first three overs of the innings.
Unperturbed by the fall of wickets, opener Tamim Iqbal (50), along with new batsman Mushfiqur Rahim (28), kept on playing his shots which mounted some pressure on the Sri Lankan bowlers.
At one point, Bangladesh were cruising at 97/3 in 13 overs but the sudden fall of wickets at the other end worried in-form Iqbal and as a result, the opener was dismissed after scoring a half-century.
Skipper Shakib Al Hasan (7), who was earlier out of action in the series due to injury, also failed to contribute.
But towards the end, Mahamudullah rose to the occasion and held his nerve till the end to make sure his team entered the final.
For Sri Lanka, Akila Dananjaya picked up two wickets.
Earlier, Thisara Perera (58) and Kusal Perera (61) helped Sri Lanka post a decent score of 159/7 in their allotted 20 overs.
Apart from them, no other batsmen stepped up for the cause and went back to the pavilion one after another.
-With IANS inputs