The battle between the underdogs got fierce early at the Super 12 stage. Tempers flared when Sri Lankan fast bowler Lahiru Kumara gave Bangladesh opener Liton Das an animated send-off followed by a few words. Kumara drew first blood in the sixth over of Bangladesh’s innings but the celebration followed by confrontation between the two players got ugly.
In order to prevent things from escalating, Sri Lankan players and Bangladesh opener Mohammad Naim intervened. Das was clearly wasn’t happy with the unwarranted send-off from Kumara.
The Bangladesh opener got out for 16 trying to hit the ball over mid-off fielder but could not get timing on it and was caught at the circle by skipper Dasun Shanaka. It was Kumara’s only wicket of the innings as he finished his quota of four overs conceding 29 runs.
After Das’ dismissal, Naim continued his good run in the tournament and scored 62 runs from 52 deliveries including six boundaries. Veteran Mushfiqur Rahim remained unbeaten for a 37-ball 57 to help Bangladesh post a challenging first innings total of 171/4. Earlier, Shanaka won the toss and opted to bowl first on a batting-friendly pitch at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Sri Lanka qualified for the super 12 stage with three wins on the trot whereas Bangladesh recovered after a shock defeat against Scotland followed by two big wins against Oman and Papua New Guinea.
