The
Sri Lanka national cricket team
The Sri Lanka men's national cricket team, ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා ජාතික ක්රිකට් කණ්ඩායම, ta, இலங்கை தேசிய கிரிக்கெட் அணி) nicknamed The Lions ...
toured India during the 1997–98
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
season, playing three
Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to:
* Test cricket
* Test match (indoor cricket)
* Test match (rugby union)
* Test match (rugby league)
* Test match (association football)
...
and three
One Day International
A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...
s (ODIs).
Both series were drawn; all three Tests were draws, and each side won one of the ODIs, tying the series 1–1. The other ODI, which was held on 25 December, was abandoned after three
overs
Over may refer to:
Places
*Over, Cambridgeshire, England
*Over, Cheshire, England
*Over, South Gloucestershire, England
*Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England
**Over Bridge
*Over, Seevetal, Germany
Music
Albums
* ''Over'' (album), by Pete ...
had been bowled, when after discussion between the two captains and the
match referee
A match referee is an official appointed to oversee professional cricket matches. Match referees for Test matches and One Day Internationals are appointed by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Most matches below international level do not ...
, it was determined that the inconsistent bounce of the
pitch was too dangerous for the players. This was the first occasion on which an international cricket match had been called off for this reason.
The third ODI was marred by umpiring controversy and disruption from the crowd. During
India's innings,
Ajay Jadeja was given
out
Out may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
* ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander
* ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...
, after being
caught behind
Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket. A batsman is out caught if the batsman hits the ball, from a legitimate delivery, with the bat, and the ball is caught by the bowler or a fielder before it hits the ground.
If the ball ...
. The umpire initially raised his finger to dismiss the batsman, but then changed his mind, and continued raising his finger to adjust his hat. He then turned down the appeal, and Jadeja continued to bat.
Elmo Rodrigopulle
Elmo Rodrigopulle (18 July 1941 – 20 July 2021) was a Sri Lankan cricketer and sports journalist. He served as a sports journalist mainly covering cricket for various newspapers in career spanning about 52 years. He was widely acclaimed fo ...
, writing for
Cricinfo
ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a d ...
, reported that "it was a mockery on the umpiring fraternity and what umpiring stands for." Later, in Sri Lanka's reply, when they were 205 for four, needing just 29 more runs for victory, the game was held up because spectators threw bottles onto the field. After a ten-minute delay, the match resumed, and Sri Lanka won by five wickets.
The tour began on 13 November, when the Sri Lankans played an Indian XI for
Anshuman Gaekwad's
benefit match, and concluded with the third ODI on 28 December.
was named player of the Test series,
in which he was the leading run-scorer from either side, aggregating 392 runs.
The most prolific batsman in the ODI series was Sri Lanka's
Roshan Mahanama, who was named the player of the ODI series.
Test series
1st Test
2nd Test
3rd Test
One Day International series
1st ODI
2nd ODI
3rd ODI
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sri Lankan cricket team in India in 1997-98
1997 in Indian cricket
1997 in Sri Lankan cricket
Indian cricket seasons from 1970–71 to 1999–2000
International cricket competitions from 1997–98 to 2000
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...