Mask-wearing Lankans force India to declare on smog-hit day

In an unprecedented turn of events, the embattled Sri Lankan cricket team on Sunday held up play during the third Test against India, complaining of poor air quality that forced the hosts to declare their innings.

The first-ever incident of this kind in the sport’s 140year-old history saw an international team resort to antipollution masks while fielding and then refuse to continue, stopping play for 26 minutes over three interruptions.

Record-breaking India skipper Virat Kohli, who was dismissed for 243 after the action resumed, was forced to declare at 536 for seven as some of the visiting team's substitute fielders too refused to take the field.

The Lankan move irked the Board of Control for Cricket in India and Team India's support staff nearly called it a deliberate tactic, though the Central Pollution Control Board’s rating of the capital's air quality remained “very poor”.

BCCI acting president C K Khannasaid,“If20,000people inthestandsdidnothaveproblem and the Indian team did notfaceanyissue, Iwonderwhy Sri Lankan team made a big fuss. I will need to talk to the secretaryandaskhimtowriteto the Sri Lanka Cricket.” Two Ranji Trophy matches in the city in the beginning of Novemberlastyear— between Hyderabad and Tripura and GujaratagainstBengal— were cancelled due to smog.