WATCH: Tempers flare as Lahiru Kumara and Liton Das nearly get into a physical fight
Not for the first time, and sadly not the last, a Bangladesh-Sri Lanka cricket match involved a heated exchange and unacceptable behaviour on the part of the players from the two countries. This time, pacer Lahiru Kumara and opening batter Liton Das were the culpable ones, as they had a real go at each other following the latter’s dismissal.
The incident happened on the penultimate ball of the sixth over in the Bangladesh innings. Kumara got Das out caught, trying to go up and over the in-field with the powerplay coming to a close. Das made room and tried loft a full ball from Kumara over the mid-off fielder but was caught at head height by Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka.
This is when the drama began as the two players were seen making physical contact and even pushed each other away while hurling abuses. It was shocking and simply unacceptable on a cricket field.
Also Read: Simon Doull Trolls Hafeez & Malik; Calls Them “80-Year Old In Two Bodies”
Lahiru Kumara and Liton Das were involved in ugly scenes.
But what exactly triggered the Liton Das-Lahiru Kumara altercation?
It was the bowler who started it. The moment Liton Das got out, Lahiru Kumara was seen throwing a few words at the batter, who then responded in equal measure.
Seeing that the two players are about to cross the line, the close-in fielders and Das’ opening partner Mohammad Naim tried to intervene. But by the time they got close to the two individuals, things had already gotten a touch out of their hands.
In successive clips of the incident, one can see that the two players pushed each other away and bad-mouthed. Das showed his bat to Kumara as if to warn him of a beating while the bowler kept going at him, having kicked off the altercation himself.
— Ves (@Ves84442098) October 24, 2021
View this post on Instagram
Lahiru Kumara had actually been fired up from the moment he finished his previous over. The last ball of the fourth over saw Naim punch the ball back to Kumara for a dot, before the bowler curiously tried to aim for the stumps with a direct throw and nearly ended up conceding a needless boundary.
That throw from Kumara was aimed above Naim’s shoulders and could’ve easily gone for a boundary if not for wicketkeeper Kusal Perera.