Cricket
Fans of the Sri Lankan team dressed in yellow to thank Australia for touring the island nation amid their ongoing economic crisis.
Updated : Jun 25, 2022, 05:09 PM IST | Edited by : Amrit Santlani
During the fifth ODI between Australia and Sri Lanka in Colombo, local fans from the island nation came up with a heartwarming gesture for the visiting side. Sri Lankan fans showed their gratitude towards the Australian cricket team as they came to tour the island nation amid their worst economic crisis since independence.
Even though Australia won the fifth ODI, the hosts registered a 3-2 win in the series. The last time Sri Lanka won an ODI series at home over the Kangaroos, it was way back in 1992.
Local fans have been flocking to the stadiums in large numbers and on Friday, as the two nations met for the final ODI of the series in Colombo, Sri Lankan fans donned yellow-coloured jerseys and carried banners which read: "Thank You Australia."
Even as the hosts currently battle their worst economic crisis in modern history, the series against Australia has given Sri Lankan fans plenty to cheer about in these testing times.
Fans have turned up in yellow to thank Australia for touring #SLvAUS #CheerForLions #MatesForLife pic.twitter.com/EasCwe9oh9
— Sri Lanka Cricket (@OfficialSLC) June 24, 2022
Both Sri Lanka cricket and ICC shared pictures of local fans wearing the colour yellow in large numbers, instead of blue as a token of appreciation for Australia. And in no time, the pictures started to go viral all over social media.
"The sea of blue has turned yellow, A lovely gesture from the Sri Lanka fans for Australia," read the tweet from ICC.
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Whereas, Sri Lanka cricket wrote, "Fans have turned up in yellow to thank Australia for touring."
The sea of blue has turned yellow
— ICC (@ICC) June 24, 2022
A lovely gesture from the Sri Lanka fans for Australia #SLvAUS pic.twitter.com/zfip5VV7Zf
While the visitors won the T20I series with aplomb, Sri Lanka stunned Australia by winning the ODI series 3-2, which is their first-ever win over Australia in a home ODI series in 30 years.
A young home side, led by Dasun Shanaka gave a brave account of themselves and some sort of respite to the fans as the country battles a crisis of gigantic proportions.