The recently concluded Twenty-20 tri-series, involving India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had panned out smoothly until the knockout clash between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka on Friday (March 16).
The Shakib Al Hasan led Bangladesh side had defeated Sri Lanka by two wickets in the do or die battle, but the game was marred by heated exchanges between both sets of players in a dramatic final over. In fact, the match was halted for a moment as Shakib threatened to take his players off when the on-field umpires didn’t deem the two shoulder height deliveries as no-ball. Following the match, the episode of broken glass panels in the visiting team’s pavilion got added to the already controversial list of affairs.
Although the CCTV footage was inconclusive as to who caused the damage, the reports in Sri Lanka’s leading newspaper – The Island suggest that Bangladesh skipper Shakib was the one accountable for this misdemeanor.
As per the reports in The Island, match referee Chris Broad spoke to the caterers in the dressing room after the match to find out the culprit. And one of the caterers of Movenpick Hotel in Colombo, where the Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi teams were staying, informed Broad that it was Shakib who broke the glass panels.
It is pertinent to mention here that after the tense scenes and the ugly altercations, Shakib was penalized 25 percent of his match fee by the International Cricket Council while the substitute Nurul Hasan was fined a similar amount. Both the players had earned a demerit point as well.
Even though Sri Lanka didn’t qualify for the final, the crowd had gathered in huge numbers to watch the final encounter between India and Bangladesh on Sunday (March 18). Because of the last-over fracas against Bangladesh, the majority of hosts support was tilted towards India.
Amidst electrifying atmosphere, India won the thrilling final by 4 wickets courtesy a last-ball six from Dinesh Karthik. Needing 34 runs off the last two overs, the ice-cool Karthik smashed 29 runs in 8 balls to seal the deal for the Men in Blue.
