The Naagin Derby is an intense cricket rivalry. It's a friendly regional rivalry in Asian cricket. Sri Lanka dominated the rivalry from its inception in 1986 until 2017, after which the rivalry became more competitive in limited-overs cricket, with Bangladesh managing victories in both bilateral series and ICC tournament fixtures.
At the senior men's level, Sri Lanka has won 3 ICC trophies (1 Cricket World Cup, 1 T20 World Cup, and 1 Champions Trophy) in addition to 6 Asia Cups. Bangladesh has never won an international multilateral competition, with their best results in ICC events being reaching the quarter-finals of the 2015 Cricket World Cup and the semi-finals of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. They have played the Asia Cup finals thrice, in 2012, 2016 and 2018.
The two sides first played in 1986, when Bangladesh toured Sri Lanka for the 1986 Asia Cup after winning the 1984 South-East Asia Cup. Since then, several bilateral Test and limited overs series have been played. The growth of large expatriate populations from both countries across the world led to neutral venues, including Australia, the UAE and Canada, hosting One Day International (ODI) series involving the two teams. The teams have also met several times in International Cricket Council (ICC) and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) tournaments.
History Between 1986 and 2001, no bilateral series were played between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, with the two sides only meeting in Asia Cup matches. Sri Lanka dominated the rivalry for decades, with Bangladesh only managing its first ODI victory in 2006, while a test victory eluded them until 2017, after which the rivalry became more competitive.
The two nations' cricketing setups have regularly interacted in recent decades. Several former Sri Lankan players have been appointed to coaching positions in Bangladesh, such as Athula Samarasekara, Ruwan Kalpage, Mario Villavarayan, Champaka Ramanayake, Rangana Herath, Thilan Samaraweera, Naveed Nawaz, Hashan Tillakaratne and current coach Chandika Hathurusinghe. Sri Lankan players have also played in the domestic Bangladesh Premier League since its establishment in 2012, when high-profile Sri Lankans Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan signed on.
Naagin dance On 15 February 2018, the rivalry arose when Bangladesh spinner Nazmul Islam celebrated his maiden T20I wicket with his trademark naagin dance after dismissing Sri Lankan opener Danushka Gunathilaka. Sri Lanka, however, won the match by 6 wickets. In the second T20I of the series, on 18 February 2018, Gunathilaka responded by mimicking Nazmul's naagin dance towards the non-striker's end where Nazmul was standing, after taking the final Bangladesh wicket to complete the series win 2–0.
The two teams then met in Sri Lanka for the 2018 Nidahas Trophy along with India, which was held to celebrate the 70 years of independence of Sri Lanka. On 10 March 2018, in the first match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Mushfiqur Rahim of Bangladesh did an angry version of the Naagin dance towards the bowler Thisara Perera after his match-winning fifty in front of a packed Sri Lankan crowd. This event created a huge amount of disrespect towards Bangladesh by Sri Lankan fans, who started to criticise them in public. This loss also marked Sri Lanka's 50th loss in T20Is, making them the first team to record 50 defeats in T20Is, and Bangladesh's highest successful chase in T20Is, and it was the fourth highest successful run chase in T20Is.
The next match between the teams had more drama on and off the field. The sixth match of the tournament and a must-win situation for Sri Lanka to reach the final was held on 16 March 2018, in Colombo. Sri Lanka batted first and scored 159 courtesy of Kusal Perera's 61 and skipper Thisara Perera's quick 58. In chasing, Bangladesh was 33 for 2 in the fourth over, but Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal sustained a partnership of 64 runs off 52 balls and gained momentum. After their wickets had fallen, Bangladesh still required 51 off 31 balls with 5 wickets in hand. Mahmudullah came to bat. Bangladesh needed 12 runs in the last over, which was bowled by Isuru Udana. Udana started with a short delivery on middle and leg in the first ball and then took a wicket in the second ball with a bouncer. Bangladesh needed 12 off four when Udana delivered another bouncer to Mahmadullah, which was not given wide by the umpires. This made for a heated conversation between Bangladesh sub fielder Nurul Hasan and the Sri Lankan fielders, especially skipper Thisara Perera and Kusal Mendis, by pointing fingers and aggressive bodily contact.
Meanwhile, the umpires had a chat with the two batsmen when Bangladesh's skipper Shakib al Hasan, who was shirtless, interfered and asked the two batsmen to leave the ground. However, the assistant coach of Bangladesh, Khaled Mahmud, informed Mahmudullah to go back and finish the game. In the next three balls, Mahmudullah scored 4, 2 and 6 to seal the game, knocking Sri Lanka from the final. After the win, Bangladesh players, led by captain Shakib and the coaching staff, stormed the field to celebrate the victory with a 'Nagin Dance' directed towards Sri Lankan players and the crowd. During the course, Bangladeshi players shattered the window of the Bangladesh dressing room in R. Premadasa Stadium as well. Following this, the BCB paid SLC for the broken glass door of the Bangladesh dressing room. Later, both Shakib and Nurul received one demerit point each for breaching Level 1 of the ICC code of conduct and were fined 25% of their match fees.
In the final between Bangladesh and India, Sri Lankan fans made a campaign to support India in the final and showed several banners "No more cobra dance, cheer for India". India needed 34 in 12 balls, where Dinesh Karthik made a masterclass innings to win the title for India. After the win, Sri Lankan fans celebrated the moment with a Naagin dance showing towards Bangladeshi players.
The dance and rivalry grew again during the 2022 Asia Cup held in the UAE. On 1 September 2022, Sri Lanka played against Bangladesh in another must-win situation after being thumped by Afghanistan. Bangladesh batted first in batting-friendly Dubai and scored 183. In reply, Sri Lanka lost wickets in regular intervals, leaving 25 needed in 12 balls to win the game. After scoring 17 runs in the 19th over, Bangladesh had to keep five fielders in the circle due to the slow over rate rule. Sri Lanka eventually won the match with three balls to spare. Chamika Karunaratne, who was in the dressing room, posed naagin dance towards the camera after the win.
Timed out incident The two nations headlined again during the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India. Sri Lanka went through the qualifying tournament, and Bangladesh had the automatic qualification for the World Cup. Until this, Sri Lanka won all the matches in the world cup against Bangladesh by large margins. On 9 November 2023, Bangladesh asked Sri Lanka to bat first in Delhi. Sri Lanka was 135 for 4 in 24 overs and was looking to set a good total. At this time, veteran Angelo Mathews came to the crease after the wicket of Sadeera Samarawickrama. However, Mathews faced a helmet malfunction and asked for a new helmet chin strap in the innings. At this time, Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan asked the umpires for Timed Out dismissal. Mathews came to bat a minute and 10 seconds after Samarawickrama's dismissal and met the non-striker Charith Asalanka to exchange a quick word. Meanwhile, Richard Illingworth informed Mathews that he had 30 seconds left. At this time, Mathews had the helmet malfunction.
After a long discussion among the on-field umpires (Illingworth and Marais), reserve umpire Adrian Holdstock and TV umpire Nitin Menon, Mathews was declared out in Timed Out. Mathews then asked to use the 'common sense' of having equipment malfunction to both umpires and Bangladesh skipper, but no one reversed the decision. Mathews left the field as the first international cricketer to be out in Timed Out. By the time Mathews got a new helmet, about two-and-a-half minutes had passed according to the officials. When bowling, Mathews dismissed Shakib and gestures to his wrist, now known as "Time Out celebration".
After the match, several current and former players criticised Shakib's option on Time Out, including Bangladesh fast bowling coach Allan Donald. In the post-match media presentation, both Mathews and Shakib explained the incident, where Shakib said it was all under the law and nothing beyond that. Meanwhile, Mathews stated that he had lost all respect for Shakib and only Bangladesh could have done such a thing, as well as making video evidence to prove that he was within the time in helmet malfunction.
The events also caused more chaos on social media, leaving many fans outrageous.
In 2024, Sri Lanka toured Bangladesh for a complete tour. In the first T20I match, Bangladeshi pacer Shoriful Islam mimics Angelo Mathews with 'Time Out celebration' after the dismissal. After winning the T20I series 2–1, Sri Lankan players made timed-out gesture in posing the camera with the trophy. After that incident, Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto stated that the Sri Lanka team needs to move on from the Timed out incident. However, after winning the ODI series 2–1, Bangladeshi player Mushfiqur Rahim gestured helmet malfunction during winning celebrations.
Other incidences Liton Das and Lahiru Kumara were fined after a heated on-field conversation during the pool match in 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka spoke in the media that Bangladesh were "an easier opponent" because they did not have world-class bowlers barring Shakib and Mustafizur Rahman before the 2022 Asia Cup match. Bangladesh's team director Khaled Mahmud responded to Shanaka, by saying that "Sri Lanka did not have any world-class bowlers, we have two". In reply to Mahmud's comment, former cricketer Mahela Jayawardene wrote on Twitter, "Looks like it's time for Sri Lanka bowlers to show the class and batters to show who they are on the field."
Results
The two sides have played a total of 108 times. Sri Lanka has won 77 matches compared to Bangladesh's 23 victories. In Test matches and ODIs, Sri Lanka has won more matches than Bangladesh, although Bangladesh has won close encounters in Twenty20 Internationals.
FormatMatches played Sri Lanka wonBangladesh wonDraw/Tie/No ResultTest 28 21 1 6ODI 60 45 13 2T20I 22 13 9 0Total 108 77 23 8 Bold indicates most wins.
ICC matches
Sri Lanka has won three meetings at the ICC Cricket World Cups, in 2003, 2007, and 2015, whereas Bangladesh won the latest meeting in 2023. This makes the scoreline 3–1 in Sri Lanka's favour at ODI World Cups.
In the T20 World Cups also, Sri Lanka has a superior record, where they won two outings in 2007 and 2021. However, Bangladesh registered its first-ever win against Sri Lanka in a T20 World Cup group D match during the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
Sri Lanka won the only time they faced each other in the Champions Trophy.
TournamentMatches played Sri Lanka wonBangladesh wonDraw/Tie/No ResultWorld Cup 5 3 1 1T20 World Cup 3 2 1 0Champions Trophy 1 1 0 0World Test Championship 6 4 0 2 Total 15 10 2 3
ACC matches The teams have met on 20 occasions in the Asia Cup, in both ODI and T20I format matches. Sri Lanka has won 16 of these meetings compared to Bangladesh's 4 victories.
TournamentMatches played Sri Lanka wonBangladesh wonDraw/Tie/No ResultAsia Cup ODI 15 13 2 0Asia Cup Twenty20 4 2 2 0Asian Test Championship 1 1 0 0 Total 20 16 4 0
ICC tournaments won