Rain plays spoilsport to dent Tigers’ chances of reaching the semis
The match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at Bristol was abandoned due to heavy rain. This abandoned match leaves Bangladesh in a spot of bother as qualification for the semis look unlikely now.
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had their World Cup match at Bristol abandoned due to rain without even the toss taking place on Tuesday. This means that both teams share a point in a match where the Tigers were viewed as the favourites. Sri Lanka sit pretty with four points from three games while Bangladesh have three points from four.
The no result leaves Bangladesh on the brink of elimination as they will now require to win a minimum of four out of their next five games against the Windies, Australia, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan.
The rain was expected ahead of time and this begs the question as to why the International Cricket Council (ICC) did not have a reserve day for the group stage games. The game is the second abandonment of the World Cup without the toss being held - the most in World Cup history.
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The unfancied Sri Lanka team can consider themselves lucky as they had their previous game against Pakistan abandoned (who were riding on the high of beating tournament favourites England in their previous match).
The other game that was abandoned was the South Africa vs Windies match on Sunday, where 7.3 overs were possible in the first innings before rain played spoilsport at Southampton on Monday.
The big talking point for the Tigers leading into the match was a thigh injury picked up in training to their ace allrounder and the top run scorer this World Cup, Shakib Al Hasan and his likely unavailability.
This will now give the team some much needed time to recoup and for Shakib to recover as Bangladesh face the Windies in their next game on 17th June.
