It was an intense finish to the virtual knock-out game between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on Thursday night, with the hosts clinching a 2-wicket victory to book a berth in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup 2022. Chasing 184 runs to win, Sri Lanka faced a middle-order collapse but Kusal Mendis (60 off 37 deliveries) and captain Dasun Shanaka (45 off 33 deliveries) held fort for the side, with Chamika Karunaratne (16 off 10 balls) and Asitha Fernando (10* off 3 balls) providing the late bloom to take the Sri Lankans to victory.
The match was preceded by significant tensions between both teams with Shanaka terming Bangladesh an “easier opponent” in comparison to Afghanistan, while Khaled Mahmud, Bangladesh's team director, claiming that Sri Lankans have ‘no world-class bowlers’ in retort. On Thursday, former Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene had also urged the bowlers to “show their class”, as he quote-tweeted Mahmud's response.
Adding fuel to the fire, however, was Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood's tactics during the first innings of the match in Sharjah. Continuing the practice that earned varied opinions from his stint in England, Silverwood displayed coded signals for Sri Lanka skipper Shanaka – something that didn't go down quite well with many Bangladesh supporters.
Silverwood, however, opened up on the same after the side's stunning win in the game. Explaining the rationale behind displaying the signals, Silverwood stated that the captain is free to not consider them but insisted they help in informed decision-making.
{{/usCountry}}Silverwood, however, opened up on the same after the side's stunning win in the game. Explaining the rationale behind displaying the signals, Silverwood stated that the captain is free to not consider them but insisted they help in informed decision-making.
{{/usCountry}}“There's no rocket science. They are just suggestion for the captain at what would be a good match at a particular point for a batsman when he is on strike. There's a lot of teams doing it now, it's just as simple as it is, really. It's just giving suggestions that the captain can use, it's not telling him how to captain. It's just the suggestion from the side,” Silverwood said.
Silverwood often used such coded signals during his coaching stint with England, and then-English captain Eoin Morgan defended the tactic on a number of occasions.
Sri Lanka join India and Afghanistan as the third team in the Super Four stage, with one of Pakistan and Hong Kong set to complete the set later tonight. The second round of Asia Cup 2022 (tournament proper) begins on Sunday (September 4).