AUS vs SL: Pakistani journalist schooled by Indian fans for calling Ekana Stadium unsafe for spectators

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Lucknow, Oct 16: The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 league match between Australia and Sri Lanka witnessed some nature's fury as strong winds forced several hoardings to fall from the roof here at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cricket Stadium, Ekana on Monday (October 16).

The rain stopped the play for a short span of time during Sri Lanka's batting in the Uttar Pradesh capital. Soon after the play resumed, there was a dust storm and heavy winds led to several iron angles with branding material from the roof falling on people sitting at the lower levels.

Luckily the stands were relatively empty so there were no injuries caused to the spectators. The videos doing the rounds on social media showed that the situation could have been dangerous had there been more people inside the stadium.

It did, however, cause panic among those who were watching the game as the public announcement asked spectators to move to the safety of the higher seats. By the time the second innings began, the security had moved all spectators to the higher level.

Pakistani journalist tries to mock India

Meanwhile, a Pakistani journalist tried to defame India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and the ICC over the video of the strong winds causing some damage to the banners and hoardings installed at the stadium.

The journalist, while sharing the video claimed the infrastructure at the stadium isn't good and the Indian Cricket Board is risking the safety of the spectators as Indian. However, his ploy backfired as he was schooled by people on X, formerly known as Twitter, that nobody has the power to withstand nature.

The scribe wrote on his handle on X, formerly known as Twitter, "The banners and hoardings fell, spectators running for safety in Lucknow! Yeh kesa infrastructure hay? (What kind of infrastructure is this?) Where's @ICC & @BCCI? Why are you risking people's lives? These stadiums in India are not safe for spectators."

Pakistan journo's ploy backfires

Trolling the journalist for his agenda, users asked him to calm down as he was trying to vent his ire on India and the Indian government for denying him the visa to cover the Cricket World Cup. One of the followers posted that his antics will still not get him the Indian visa.

"Brother... It's just a banner made of cloth. How come anyone's life is at stake because of that? It's raining over there. Do you really have to create a chaotic tweet like this? You can raise your concerns, but absolutely no need to create a scene," wrote another user. X users posted several funny comments to call out the scribe's personal agenda.

The Ekana Stadium hosted its maiden World Cup game -- Australia versus South Africa -- last week. The marquee India versus England match is scheduled to be played at the Ekana Stadium on October 29.

Meanwhile, the match between Australia and Sri Lanka ended with the former's win at Ekana Stadium. The Aussies defeated the Lankan Lions by 5 wickets in the run chase of 210 and secured their first win of the 10-team global tournament, hosted by India.