Cricket Australia marked Sri Lanka's 71st Independence Day with both teams lining up for the national anthem prior to the start of play today.

Sri Lanka's Independence Day coincided with the fourth day of the second Test match between Sri Lanka and Australia at Manuka Oval. 

Sports Minister Harin Fernando who is currently in Australia also joined the occasion. 

The move was widely appreciated by cricket commentators across the world as it demonstrated unwavering sportsmanship on the part of Australia. 

The relationship between Australia cricket and Sri Lanka strained in the mid 90s mainly due to the chucking controversy involving Sri Lanka's ace spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. 

Muralitharan was called out twice by Australian umpires in two separate tournaments in 1995 and 1998. Australia and Sri Lanka were rivals in the famous World Cup final in 1996 where Sri Lanka emerged champions.