Angry fans didn't allow Sri Lanka Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara to leave the stadium

The ongoing ODI series between Sri Lanka and India hasn’t really lived up to its weight, and there have been more news off the field than on it. Sri Lanka Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara was at the receiving end as the host’s poor performance continued. Dayasiri was about to leave the stadium, with India’s score around 170, with only 59 odd runs to achieve. But the fans chanted in chores for Dayasiri to remain inside the stadium, and watch the entire game.

Fans turn hostile

According to Cricket Age,  the fans turned hostile and they didn’t want the Sports Minister to avoid the humiliation. They wanted Dayasiri to watch the entire game, as Sri Lanka failed to pick any more wickets towards the end. The game was stopped for a while, with some of the spectators throwing bottles on the ground and creating an unplayable situation. But the match resumed after a short while.

Ranatunga criticises administrators

Former Sri Lankan world cup winning skipper and the Minister of Petroleum Resources Development, Arjuna Ranatunga wrote a detailed note to President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in this connection, blaming country’s cricket administration for failing to establish a structure to make cricketers stronger mentally. “The cricket administration is directly responsible for this disastrous situation. Earlier, cricketers were confident that they will be retained in the team, but now they don’t know whether they will play the next match,” he said, accusing the administration of allowing political interference.

Ranatunga also took a dig at Indians by arguing with the fans and later requesting them not to follow the Indian crowd. He termed the Indian crowd ‘unruly’. The Sri Lankan camp has been hit by some lack lustered form. They lost the Test series 3-0 and are currently trailing in the ODI series by the same figures. The Lankans came close to victory in the 2nd ODI, after Akila Dhananjaya scalped career best figures of 6/54 but a 100 run unbeaten stand between Bhuvneshwar Kumar and MS Dhoni snatched a win from the Lankans.