T20 World Cup: Unruly scenes in Sharjah between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh players

Liton Das and Lahiru Kumara had to be separated after heated exchange of words

Bangladesh's Liton Das, second right, has altercation with Sri Lankan bowler Lahiru Kumara after he was dismissed during their T20 World Cup match in Sharjah on Sunday, October 24, 2021. AP

Lahiru Kumara of Sri Lanka has an altercation with Liton Das of Bangladesh at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Getty

Lahiru Kumara of Sri Lanka and Liton Das of Bangladesh had to be separated following an altercation at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Getty

Lahiru Kumara and Liton Das had an altercation on Sunday. Getty

Lahiru Kumara of Sri Lanka has some heated words with Liton Das of Bangladesh. Getty

Lahiru Kumara of Sri Lanka celebrates the wicket of Liton Das. Getty

Lahiru Kumara and Liton Das had to be separated in Sharjah. Getty

The spotlight of the cricket world is on the India-Pakistan clash at the T20 World Cup in Dubai which takes place on Sunday evening. Across the emirate in Sharjah, another - newer - rivalry in cricket unfolded earlier in the day, and it did not make for good viewing.

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have developed a particularly feisty rivalry over the last few years. On Sunday, things boiled over pretty much at the start of the match.

In the sixth over, Sri Lanka fast bowler Lahiru Kumara dismissed Bangladesh batsman Liton Das. As the batsman was leaving, some heated words were exchanged between the two. The situation soon turned ugly as Bangladesh batsman Mohammed Naim and other Sri Lankan players came between the two and had to push them away.

The umpires also had to intervene to prevent the altercation from getting out of hand.

The rivalry between the two teams has become particularly intense over the last few years, especially since the 2018 Nidahas Trophy tri-series in Sri Lanka, which was won by India in a last-ball thriller against Bangladesh.

There, even the Sri Lankan crowd came out in full support for the Indian team in the final.