The much-awaited cricket match was stopped when two anti-Adani activists ran onto the pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground holding ‘Stop Adani’ banners.
Players immediately stopped the game as the two protesters held a banner up to spectators.
The protests called on the State Bank of India to rule out loaning Adani AUD $1 billion for its Carmichael coal mine in central Queensland's Galilee Basin.
“State Bank of India – No $1 bn Adani loan”, the banner read.
Some spectators cheered for the protestors while others booed them.
The incident happened when 7th over was in progress. Navdeep Saini had bowled 5th delivery of the match when the first protester came running towards the players.
It took security staff a couple of minutes to come on the field and control the protesters. All that while the protesters were walking beside the pitch, showing the banner to the half-full galleries.
Source: SBS
When the security personnel were on the ground, the protesters walked off with them.
Before the match, the protesters had been demonstrating outside the stadium.
Cricket-themed #StopAdani protests at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney and the Indian Consulates in Canberra and Melbourne were planned.
Source: SBS
In Melbourne and Canberra, protesters played cricket outside the Indian Consulates and delivered a letter for the Indian Government, asking it to "intervene and ensure that India’s national bank does not bankroll Adani’s dangerous coal project".
Protestors have waged a decade-long campaign against the construction of the mine, located more than 400 kilometres inland from Mackay, which is set to be one of Australia's largest coal mines when completed.
