Ish Sodhi given exceptional Mankad reprieve by Bangladesh captain
Ish Sodhi was given an “exceptional” reprieve while batting for the Black Caps in their second one-day international in Bangladesh, before taking career-best figures as they won by 86 runs.
The leg-spinner was run out at the non-striker’s end by Hasan Mahmud while on 17 off 25 with his side 224-8 in the 46th over.
After replays confirmed the Mankad dismissal, Sodhi began to make his way off the field, but stopped and returned when Bangladesh captain Liton Das called him back, giving Hasan a hug as he did so.
Sodhi went on to be the last man out for 35 off 39 as the Black Caps posted 254 from 49.2 overs after captain Lockie Ferguson won the toss and chose to bat.
That total proved to be well beyond Bangladesh, as they were dismissed for 168, with Sodhi taking 6-39, a timely maiden five-wicket bag in ODIs with the Cricket World Cup in India less than two weeks away.
Mankad dismissals have been controversial ever since India’s Vinoo Mankad removed Australia’s Bill Brown that way in 1947, with some cricketers preferring only to warn batters who leave their crease too early.
The International Cricket Council moved them from being a unique method of dismissal to being included with run-outs in 2022 in an effort to destigmatise them and they are becoming more accepted.
Sodhi said the recall was “a great gesture,” that he “would like to think that if I was in the same situation as bowler, I would do the same thing,” and that he probably wouldn’t try for such a run-out in the first place.
“I think I was out by such a small fraction. It caught me off guard. I come from a bit of an old cloth where you give the batter a warning, but I understand that is not the rules at the moment.
“I think Litton Das was exceptional in the way he handled it,” Sodhi added. “I went and hugged the bowler and gave Litton a handshake.
“We’re really competitive and we want to win games of cricket for our country, but we all respect the game of cricket very highly and really endeavour to keep the spirit intact.”
Bangladesh batter Tamim Iqbal – a former captain – said it did “not look good” to recall Sodhi and that such dismissals were “part of cricket”.
“I don’t see anything wrong in it. The rule is there.
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“There’s no right and wrong. Either you do it and there’s nothing wrong. If you don’t do it, there’s also nothing wrong. It’s a team call.”
Tom Blundell made 68 off 66 and Henry Nicholls 49 off 61 as the Black Caps scratched their way to 254 on a wicket that got harder to bat as the match went on at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on the outskirts of Dhaka.
Sodhi took his first five wickets in a row as Bangladesh went from 19-1 after an early Kyle Jamieson strike to 134-6. Hasan became his sixth victim as he bettered his previous ODI best of 4-58, taken against England in 2018.
The win gives the Black Caps a 1-0 lead in the series ahead of the third and final ODI at the same venue on Tuesday [first ball 9pm NZ time]. The first match of the series on Friday was rained out.
