Angelo Mathews getting timed out against Bangladesh created a controversy in a near-dead rubber encounter of the World Cup 2023. Mathews’ dismissal led to Sri Lankan and Bangladesh players avoiding the customary handshake after the game. After the match, Mathews went on to say that he had lost respect for Shakib Al Hasan and his team. Also, he provided video evidence showing that he was not out. A couple of days later, when Mathews came out to bat against New Zealand, skipper Kane Williamson poked fun at him by asking the all-rounder to check the helmet strap again.
However, Mathews could not do much with the bat amid a batting collapse at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium. He was dismissed by Mitchell Santner in the 17th over of the innings. He scored just 16 runs from 27 balls.
After Williamson won the toss and opted to field first, they lost early wickets but Kusal Perera fired from the other end. He reached his half-century from just 22 balls. It is the second-fastest fifty for Sri Lanka in ODI World Cups. The record belongs to Mathews who reached his half-century from just 20 balls against Scotland in the 2015 edition of the World Cup.
Earlier, Mathews had called Shakib’s move to get his wicket a “disgraceful act” on November 6.
"I haven't done anything wrong. I had two minutes to get ready which I did but there was an equipment malfunction and I don't know where commonsense (had) gone. It was disgraceful from Shakib and Bangladesh," Mathews had said during the post-match press conference.
"If they want to play cricket like that, stoop to that level, it is something wrong drastically. If I got late, past my two minutes and the law says I have to get ready in two minutes, I still had five more seconds to go.
"It was just pure commonsense, I am not saying (doing) 'Mankading' or obstructing the field here, It is absolutely disgraceful."
As per the rule in the ongoing World Cup, the batter is expected to be ready to face the ball within two minutes of a wicket or a batter getting retired out.
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