Mohammad Kaif was left shocked after what he witnessed at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. Before the match, the main talking was the AQI in Delhi which got better than yesterday. The game was expected to be a dead rubber with only motivation being Champions Trophy 2025 spot for both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. But, in the 25th over, it took an ugly turn. Angelo Mathews was dismissed timed-out as he could not face the first ball within two minutes due to a helmet malfunction he faced at the crease.
After minutes of discussion and Mathews making his case by showing the broken helmet strap to the on-field umpires and Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan, he had to walk off. The entire controversy irked former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Mohammad Kaif who said, "This is an embarrassment. This is so sad. No, no, no! I know it's in the rules but this is so poor from Shakib Al Hasan."
After drama in the middle, Shakib walked back to the dressing room. The all-rounder threw his bat in anger. He had a word with the Sri Lankan head coach Chris Silverwood and support staff as well who wanted to know about the conversation in the middle.
Mathews became the first-ever cricketer to get dismissed timed-out in international cricket, not just in World Cup events. Earlier, only six other cricketers have been given out in this fashion in first-class cricket.
Waqar Younis and Russell Arnold were not happy with the dismissal either and questioned Shakib’s spirit of cricket.
It also needs to be taken into account that Bangladesh did not appeal for a time-out when Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman forgot to wear his box and asked his teammate to bring one before facing his first delivery.
Also, in the past, captains like Graeme Smith have chosen not to appeal for a wicket in this fashion in international cricket.
Mathews' wicket was crucial as he has a good record against Bangladesh in ODIs. Before the dismissal, from 11 innings, he had scored 406 runs from 67.7 including four half-centuries.
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