Dust storm during AUS vs SL: WC hoardings fall into stands

India: Bouncing back from the strong opening stand that Sri Lanka had put on, Australia inflicted an epic collapse in what was an almost must-win game for either side in the 2023 World Cup. And amid the final phase of the Sri Lanka innings, the Ekana Stadium donned the look of a post-apocalyptic movie scene when dust storm in Lucknow halted the match for a brief few moments on Monday.

It happened in the 43rd over of the Sri Lanka innings when the 1996 champions had huffed and puffed their way past the 200-run mark for the loss of nine wickets. The wind in Lucknow had picked up and it looked very gusty and hence on-field umpires were urged to pause the match.

So strong were the winds that the World Cup hoardings attached to the roof of the Lucknow Stadium fell on the stands along with other objects as spectators scampered to safety. The camera also caught Australian stars Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell looking at the incident from afar with sheer shock. Fortunately, none of the spectators were injured.