Angelo Mathews became the first cricketer in the history of international cricket to be timed out. Photo: Collected
Bangladesh has created a big controversy in the World Cup. Tigers have timed out Angelo Mathews in the crucial match against Sri Lanka. Tiger captain Shakib Al Hasan appealed for out as Mathews was not ready to bat after the scheduled time. No one else in international cricket had called for such a dismissal before Shakib. Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka by 3 wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Monday (November 6). With this victory, the Tigers have risen to seventh in the points table. After losing six matches in a row, Bangladesh saw victory. However, Angelo Mathews’ timed out is now in discussion over this win. Although this has happened six times before in domestic cricket, this is the first time it has happened in international cricket. There are mixed feelings in the cricket world over this incident. While some have condemned Shakib for appealing this out, many have praised his presence of mind. According to the rules of the MCC, the governing body of cricket, two minutes are allotted for another batsman to enter the field and prepare to bat after a batsman is dismissed. Mathews got on the field on time but could not start batting within the allotted time due to a fault with his helmet. Shakib used this opportunity. Appealed to the umpire for out. Everyone thought it was Shakib’s brainchild. But Shakib told a different story in the press conference after the match. A fielder of the team encouraged him to make this application. Shakib said, ‘One of our fielders came to me and said, if you apply, according to the rules, he is out. He could not take the guard within the specified time. Then I appealed to the umpire.’ Which player made this suggestion – Shakib could not get the name despite repeated insistence on this question. However, several media of the country quoting party sources say that the player’s name is Nazmul Hossain Shanto. It was the vice captain of the team who suggested Shakib to apply. Of course, the TV footage also points in that direction. When Shakib was appealing for a time out two cricketers were seen near him. One is former Tigers vice-captain Liton Das and the other is Shant. Shakib is more likely to get advice from one of these two. But whatever happens, Shant played the role of Shakib’s sidekick in the team’s win yesterday. Shakib-Shant together made their greatest partnership of 169 runs in the current World Cup. Shanta also reached close to the century. But had to return to the nervous nineties cut. Liton Das also played well and was unfortunately dismissed for 23 runs. After taking 2 wickets with the ball, Shakib scored 82 runs with the bat in just 65 balls and became the man of the match.
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