13th March, 1996: Eden Gardens, Calcutta – A dreadful night in Indian cricket history, angry- rowdy fans disrupted play by throwing bottles onto the field and setting the seats on fire. The crowd simply refused to mend and eventually, Sri Lanka were awarded the victory by default as India were reduced to 120/8 in the 35th over with 132 more required from 15.5 overs. Sri Lanka went on to win the World Cup.

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27th March, 2017: Pallekelle – One of the darkest nights in Sri Lanka Cricket history, when the fans, sitting on the grass banks, adjoining the giant scoreboard interrupted play for more than 30 minutes by throwing plastic bottles when India needed only 8 runs to win to seal the series. The crowds were dispersed by the riot squads and the match resumed after the Match Referee Andy Pycroft was given the assurance of no more crowd trouble by the Security personnel.  India went on to secure the series.

It was a day the tiny-island nation needs to hang down their heads in shame, not because the cricket team was on a losing streak but because the fans did not know to accept defeat gracefully. Some of the renowned sportsmen in Sri Lanka showed their displeasure of the ugly incident in Pallekelle on twitter.

Fans around the world love, cheer when their teams perform well and but when they don’t do well for a specific period, should they turn rogue?  The answer is an emphatic No. In sport, everyone including the players, fans and management should accept defeat with the same grace that they rejoice victory.

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Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni constructed an unbroken 157-run stand to help India beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets…

Sri Lanka Cricket is going through a black hole, losing to former minnows Bangladesh, bottom-ranked Zimbabwe and now to, top-class India at home this year. All these losses in front of their very own eyes seem to have become too much for the Sri Lankan fans who are desolate at the once competitive sport crumbling under pressure, unable to hold their own against any level of competition.  They are broken-hearted at the depths their beloved game has fallen into.

The misbehaving fans booed and protested outside the grounds and resorted to throwing bottles in Dambulla and Pallekelle respectively during this current Indian series where the hosts are yet to win a single game. While the countrymen’s devastation is understandable, the wisdom of acting in such a dastardly manner when the most popular sport, the pride of the nation is going through a rough patch questions their character.

Sri Lanka has always taken pride in carrying their heroes through hard times.  Though one cannot recall a time when cricket had fallen to such a perpetual low, the time when the island lost to India in the 2011 World cup could be quipped as one.  The fans rallied around the crest-fallen team at that time, they lined the streets and said ‘it was ok’

Don’t forget that the same fans cheered when TM Dilshan bowed out of International Cricket in Dambulla exactly a year ago, and when Kusal Mendis-inspired Sri Lanka crushed Australia in the first Test in Pallekelle last year.

Sri Lankan fans are celebrated to be amazing party starters with their own form of baila music and papare bands. When the national team tours, they could make a small contingent of fans look en masse with their reverberating cheer and endless song and dance.

As a nation, we must back our team to win matches again, claim trophies again, make the opponents fear them again and most importantly shower them with love and blessings because the going has got tough. It is no secret that the current players are low on confidence and do not perform up to expectations but these kinds of incidents only serve to demoralize them further.

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Renowned commentator Roshan Abeysinghe analyzing the 3rd ODI between Sri Lanka and India in Pallekele on Sunday.

We have seen Indian fans being more violent by breaking TV sets, burning player posters, hurling abuses at players, and leveling ridiculous allegations and even attempting to burn players homes in instances. We should not follow suit just because they are our neighbours. We must always spread love, not hatred. It is our confidence and rallying that will bolster them.  We should turn up with placards and turn up the love and belief.

The call should also be to stop all the hate posts, negative and wicked trolls on social media created to cause amusement in the situation. It is your opinion to comment, share and tweet about the underperforming team but those posts, comments, tweets and pictures spread anger among fans, break their spirit and make them do shameful acts (like in Pallekelle). All this would not inspire confidence in the team and ultimately only serve to make the nation become a laughing stock in front of the world.

We are a proud sub-continent cricketing nation and it is not just a game for us, it’s a religion, it’s a life-style and as fans, we should preserve our greatest treasure – Sri Lanka Cricket.  Abandoning anything in the time of trouble doesn’t constitute good character.

The great Kumar Sanagakkara said it best in an recent in an interview with ThePapare.com, he said Sri Lanka ‘must not panic’. Hitting the nail on the head as always, Sanga articulated in a few words the chaos that is being caused.

The Indians have already taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series but the hosts need to win the two remaining games at Khettarama and secure their automatic qualification to ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, so all is not lost yet, come in numbers and support the lions.

“It is a must win no doubt. We need to get back to Colombo, sit with the team and the management and have a chat to see what can be done to improve.” 

Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain Chamara Kapugedara stated after the 3rd ODI.

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