Flight delay adds to team's woes

Maximum City: Sri Lanka's brief stay in Mumbai has been anything but a breeze © Getty Images

The Sri Lanka squad found itself stranded at the Mumbai domestic airport for two hours before departing to Nagpur for the first of seven one-day matches against India. The Indian Airlines flight IC 629 was due to depart from Mumbai at 7:40 pm on Sunday evening, but left only at 9:40 pm, leaving the visitors frustrated with nothing to do inside the terminal building of the airport.

Michael Tissera, the Sri Lankan team manager, was disappointed at the state of affairs. "It's very frustrating to wait for two hours at the airport," he was reported as saying by Rediff. "If we would have known about the delay earlier, we would have waited at the team hotel." Tissera was also worried at the effect this would have on the team's scheduled practice session on Monday morning. "Now we will reach Nagpur at midnight. We have a practice session in the morning, but what can we do," he said.

Indian Airlines reported that all evening flights to other destinations were also delayed by an hour or two. "The arrival of aircraft into Mumbai has been delayed, as a result of which the departures have been affected," said an Indian Airlines official.

This travel setback follows the surprise loss to a depleted Mumbai Cricket Association President's XI in a warm-up match on Saturday, and the Sri Lankan team will be eager to move on to happier locations.

At the Mumbai airport, the Sri Lankan team were hounded by autograph seekers and photographers alike as many of the players spent their time at the airport restaurant.