One might have witnessed football fans in the stands clashing against one another, but the gentleman's game also had similar scenes at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo in the third ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka, chasing a score of more than 300 runs, were tottering at 158 for the loss of seven wickets, when the unruly incident took place.
The situation did not look good as several stones were found near the boundary line. Some Pakistan fielders, who were in the outfield during the time, took quick steps to the middle of the pitch in order to keep themselves at a safer distance from the crowd.
Both the teams were asked to head over to the dressing room. The incident led to the game being suspended for 30 minutes.
"There was an issue between two factions in the stands," ESPN Cricinfo quoted SLC secretary Prakash Schaffter as saying.
"The police sorted that out. There was a stone that found its way to the ground - outside of the boundary line though. Nevertheless it was on the ground. They temporarily stopped play and then the police brought the situation under control. When we confirmed that to the match referee, the match commenced. Play was stopped partly because of an abundance of caution, because player security is paramount."
The situation forced riot and the security forces to clear the stands from where the stones were pelted. In the same area of the stands, a fight had reportedly taken place as well.
No arrests have been reported so far, but the stone pelting led to the vehicles in the stadium being damaged.
Former Sri Lankan cricketer, Russell Arnold tweeted that the clash was not related to cricket.
After the match resumed, Pakistan cleaned the Sri Lankan tail up to win the third ODI by 135 runs.
