Play suspended for half an hour following crowd trouble

Pakistan have now taken a 2-1 lead in the series

The 3rd ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at Colombo was affected by an ugly incident. A rock was thrown onto the field during Sri Lanka’s run chase and as a result, the play was suspended for half an hour.

There were fears that the match would not restart (Pakistan would have won anyway had that been the case), but the match referee Javagal Srinath gave the green signal for play to resume at 10.05 PM as Pakistan completed the formalities to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

The incident happened in the 34th over of the innings when some fights broke out in the south-eastern stand inside the stadium during the second innings. The police started evacuating people as a result of the clashes and hence a few of them started throwing objects in retaliation.

In fact, those who threw stones were seen leaving the stadium through some other way. Fortunately, no player was hurt during the incident and once the match officials were satisfied with the safety measures, play resumed with no reduction in overs.

The 4th ODI will be played on the 22nd of this month.

This is bloody sad what's happening here at Premadasa! Come on people... It is suppose to be a time of celebration! #SLvPAK

— Dean Jones (@ProfDeano) July 19, 2015

Disappointed with events here at the RPS... shocking behaviour by a handful of spectators has escalated and effected the game.

— Russel Arnold (@RusselArnold69) July 19, 2015

We should take results in correct spirit and enjoy the game. Very poor from some spectators. Hope it doesn't reflect on all SL fans.

— Mahela Jayawardena (@MahelaJay) July 19, 2015