Colombo: In today's cricket matches between India and Bangladesh, a brawl or two, a few episodes of sledging, an animated send-off, a severe look, and a few comments are nothing new.
India and Bangladesh have recently engaged in some controversial international matches that have even spilled over onto social media.
Who can ever forget the fight between Virat Kohli and Rubel Hossain that began at the 2011 World Cup and lasted till the ICC event in 2015? Or how, in a fictitious T20 World Cup quarterfinal matchup versus India, Mushfiqur Rahim prematurely celebrated?
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There have also been disagreements about umpiring choices, such as the Litton Das stumping in the 2018 Asia Cup or the Rohit Sharma no-ball in the 2015 World Cup.
Not just the senior teams are experiencing tension. After the 2020 World Cup final, there was a nasty brawl between the U19 teams of Bangladesh and India. The India A vs. Bangladesh A Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023 semi-final on Friday in Colombo added a new chapter to the bitter rivalry.
When some of the Indian hitters received animated send-offs from the Bangladeshi bowlers and fielders, tension began to build. After bowling India A all-rounder Riyan Parag, Bangladesh pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib, who was also a member of the U19 team that got into a fight with Indian players in 2020, handed him an unjustified send-off.
To put it mildly, some of the wicket celebrations were a little excessive. There was no face-off because no India A batters struck back, though.
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Only when India A was about to take the field did they begin to act aggressively. Up until Bangladesh's openers Mohammad Naim Sheikh and Tanzid Hasan started playing aggressive cricket, everything was as usual. When India's spinners, led by Manav Suthra, went into action and quickly took a few wickets, things began to change.
The action included Abhishek Sharma and Nishant Sindhu as well. When the India fielders sent out the seasoned Soumya Sarkar, who has played 149 games for Bangladesh, things became heated.
The chase by Bangladesh A was in its 26th over when it happened. Yuvrajsinh Dodiya, an off-spinner, managed to turn and grasp one. Sarkar made some progress but was defeated by the turn. The ball struck his pad, traveled through his bat, and eventually ended up in the first slip area where Nikin Jose made a spectacular diving catch.
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