Sri Lankan opener Tharanga Paranavitana lost half the match fee for appealing after taking a bump catch.

It made him guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the second Test against New Zealand.

ICC Match Referee Andy Pycroft announced the punishment following a hearing at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground at the conclusion of the second Test in Colombo.

"The incident that led to the charge being laid took place in the 51st over of New Zealand's second innings when Paranavitana claimed a catch at silly mid-off when the ball was hit to him by Iain O'Brien. Paranavitana immediately started celebrating the 'catch' by throwing the ball in the air.

As the umpires moved towards each other to confer, Paranavitana also crossed the pitch in jubilation and continued to appeal several times in an excited manner.

The player subsequently pleaded guilty to a charge under Rule C1 of the Code (Level 2) which states that players shall at all times conduct play within the spirit of the game.

The match referee downgraded the charge to Level 1, something he is entitled to do under the terms of the ICC Code of Conduct. .

"The player's previous excellent conduct, his apology at the hearing and his excitement at Sri Lanka being on the verge of winning the series are some of the factors that I took into account before downgrading the charge," Pycroft later said.

"But the fact of the matter is you can't celebrate by throwing the ball in the air and cross the pitch while continuing to appeal as the umpires are conferring with each other."

"It is not the sort of example that players should be setting at any time, especially given the message his action sends out to the millions of people watching at the ground and on television. Therefore his behaviour merited some form of action," he added.