Virat Kohli Delhi Test
Virat Kohli looked unhappy with Sri Lanka's tactics in DelhiIANS

While residents of Delhi have been bearing the brunt of poor air quality in the city over the past few weeks, it was time for international cricketers to be on the receiving end on Saturday, December 3.

There was a delay of more than a 15 minutes during the post-lunch session on Day 2 of the ongoing third Test between India and Sri Lanka at the Feroz Shah Kotla after Sri Lankan players were seemingly uncomfortable playing in smoggy conditions.

Face masks to the rescue

Some of the visitng players, including captain Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews and Lakshan Sandakan, came out after Lunch wearing face masks.

On the other hand, Lahiru Gamage along with fellow pace-bowler Suranga Lakmal walked off the field unable to bowl as the air quality deteriorated.

Also read: Delhi pollution: Were Sri Lanka players right in causing delays? Former India coach has this to say

The breaks seemed to affect Indian batsmen's concentration: R Ashwin threw his wicket away in the 123rd over, right after play resumed after the one of the many long delays. Captain Virat Kohli, who looked animated after the delay, was also dismissed on 243 amid all the drama.

Eventually, Sri Lanka ran out of players as both their pacers — Gamage and Lakmal — along with Sadeera Samarawickrama, who was declared unfit to take the field on Day 2, were unavailable.

Sri Lankan manager Asanka Gurusinha entered the field to discuss the situation with the umpires, and Indian head coach Ravi Shastri followed suit.

Kohli then decided to put a halt to the tense situation by declaring the Indian innings at 536 for 7.

Even as a tense situation was playing out on the field at the Kotla, netizens were busy giving their views on the episode.

While some slammed the Sri Lankan team saying they had deliberately caused the delays, others expressed concern about the alarming air quality in the national capital.

Here's how Sri Lankan cricket team was slammed on Twitter

 Here are a few Tweets that defended Sri Lankan cricketers' gesture

 

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