Ganguly fined 75 percent of his match fee

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly was fined 75 percent of his match fee by match referee Cammie Smith for bringing the game into disrepute in yesterday's game against Sri Lanka where he was seen using abusive language at Sri Lankan batsman Russell Arnold when the batsman was given out.

The 29-year-old skipper attended a disciplinary hearing last evening with Smith after India's 46-run victory.

Ganguly, in fact had returned on Wednesday for the match against Sri Lanka after serving a one-match suspension for bringing the game into disrepute earlier in the tournament.

Ganguly first lost his cool when Arnold survived a vehement caught behind appeal before directing a stream of verbal abuse at the lefthander when umpire Gamini Silva gave him out lbw next ball.

Smith spoke to Ganguly, both umpires, Russel Arnold and Mahela Jayawardene, the non-striker, immediately after the match, but said he would announce his decision only on Thursday morning.

The ICC had recently made it clear that it is the responsibility of the captains to ensure that the game is played "within the spirit of the game."

According to the latest laws of cricket, it is against the spirit of the game "to direct abusive language towards an opponent or umpire."