The Sri Lanka cricket board on Friday announced that fans will be allowed free entry during Sri Lanka’s upcoming two-Test series against India, starting August 15 in Galle. The first Test match will be held in the Galle International Stadium while the SSC in Colombo will host the second match from August 23-27.
“Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) wishes to announce that public admission to the upcoming Test Series between Sri Lanka and India will be free of charge thus providing cricket fans with an excellent opportunity to witness world-class Test cricket,” SLC stated in a release.
“Sri Lanka Cricket warmly invites cricket enthusiasts, young aspiring cricketers, families, and sports fans from across the country to take advantage of this initiative and experience the excitement of international Test cricket between Sri Lanka and India,” it added.
The decision was taken so that the stands are filled during the matches with Test cricket in Sri Lanka hardly attracting crowd with even Indian teams of yesteryears having played in front of empty stands.
Meanwhile on Friday, Indian bowling unit got some rough treatment from Sri Lanka’s Gen-Next batters before Kuldeep Yadav-led spinners scripted a recovery in the final session as the hosts posted 363 for 8 to end their first innings on the opening day of the three-day warm-up game.
Since the match doesn’t have first-class status — each team will bat 90 overs on days one and two and 45 overs each on the final day. However at the end of the first day, head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Shubman Gill, who didn’t take the field due to an impact injury that he suffered during a training session, will have a lot to ponder.