Arjuna Ranatunga requested Sri Lankan fans to not emulate Indian spectators

Virat Kohli led India beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in all important third ODI in Pallekele to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in five-match ODI series. Chasing 218 for victory, India stumbled 3 for mere 61 runs on the board. The visitors needed a scintillating unbeaten 157-run stand between Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni to achieve the target convincingly.

However, towards the end, there was a lot of drama as one segment of the crowd was absolutely furious with the kind of performance the home team put up and resorted to a violent display. This forced the match to be halted until the situation defused. After a span of thirty minutes, the spectators were ousted. Following which the players were asked to start the proceedings again and India chased down the required 8 runs.

Ranatunga’s request for Sri Lankan fans

Arjuna Ranatunga, the World Cup winning skipper beseeched Sri Lankan fans to not emulate Indian spectators at the end of cricket matches.

Addressing the media at the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation Head Office yesterday he said an incident has been reported that spectators threw plastic bottles into the ground towards the end of third ODI between Sri Lanka and India at Pallekele International Stadium on Sunday.

“Such incidents should not be repeated. Sri Lankans love cricket and they feel sad when we lose a match. We have made lots of sacrifices for cricket and those sacrifices had been made while losing lots of things. Every cricketer in our team is mentally depressed,” Ranatunga said. “Therefore, I request our cricket lovers not to behave like Indian spectators. We have a very good history and culture. Such misbehavior is not accepted in our culture and history,” he added.

“Several cricketers had been summoned before the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) and I informed about it to President Maithripala Sirisena who promised to look into the matter,” he was quoted by dailymirror.lk.

The flamboyant Minister also said that an interim committee has to be appointed to look into the matter and probe frauds and other irregularities in Sri Lankan Cricket.