Well done Sri Lanka Cricket! Your prompt reaction at Premadasa was commendable

By Sandipan Banerjee 

Rioting crowds inside the stadium, people pelting stones into the ground, policemen evacuating the crowds from the stands — cricket has seen an ugly round of events on Sunday, during the third One-Day International (ODI) at the R. Premadasa stadium. The situation was so bad that crowds from couple of stands had to be evacuated before resuming the game. 

It could have been another Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) or Eden Gardens. But thankfully the whole situation came under control very quickly. With its prompt reaction the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) authorities handled the entire situation exceptionally well.

The Sri Lankan crowd is known for their avid love for the game and good gesture on the cricket field. But on Sunday the R. Premadasa stadium experienced something very unusual. The hosts, Sri Lanka took on Pakistan in the third ODI of the five-match series in Colombo. Both teams came in the game with the series levelled at 1-1. So there were a lot of excitement around this game. Crowds came in numbers at the venue to support the home team.

Pakistan dominated the first half and gave Sri Lanka a stiff target of 317 to chase. Sri Lankan batsmen were never in the game and it looked like another monotonous day of cricket.  Everything was going right for Pakistan until the 34th over of Sri Lankan innings.  The hosts were tottering at 158 for seven.  Suddenly the Pakistan fielders were complaining to the umpire about something.

Gradually the things got worse as there were reports of stone pelting on Pakistani fielders. The incident came after fights had broken out in the terraced section of the south-eastern stand. On-field umpired stopped the game and asked the players to leave the ground and go the dressing room immediately.

The video footage of the incident showed the violence. It was terrifying. Panic was increasing, but the local authorities of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the security personals did an admirable job. They were quick reactions from their side which helped the situation to get under-control within just 20 minutes. Otherwise it could have been worse, like SCG of 1879 or Eden Garden of 1996 or 1999.

The security of the players and match officials was their primary task. So first thing they did was to deploy adequate security persons near the dressing rooms. The whole area were cordoned by the policemen and members of the anti-riot squad.

Next thing they did, was evacuating the crowds from the disturbed stands. Police deployed anti-riot squads to clear two blocks of stands near the scoreboard from where the whole riot started.  The lower tier of the stand was temporarily evacuated but objects continued to be thrown from outside the ground – by people who were being evicted from the ground. Several rocks were thrown through the back of the open south-eastern stand, and those were seen cascading down the terrace steps.

Though there were some problem outside, but the Policemen the complete control within the stadium. The interruption came at around 9:35 pm local time and again play resumed at 10:05 pm with no reduction in overs. In between this half an hour, the entire eastern stand was evacuated, which was not a very easy task to do.

There were no immediate reports of arrests or any major injury any other cricket fans. But several vehicles at the stadium were damaged due to stone throwing. However, thanks to the prompt response and reaction by the authorities, a major disorder was avoided. This whole handling of situation can be a good reference for the future sports organisers of how to react in these circumstances.

Well done SLC, well done Colombo Police.

(Sandipan Banerjee is a reporter at CricketCountry. Cricket has been the biggest passion for him since his childhood. So, when it came to choosing his career, he chose to turn his passion into his profession. Apart from cricket he likes mountain trekking, river rafting, and photography. His twitter handle is @im_sandipan.)