Ganguly fan creates flutter at Uppal
HYDERABAD: In a major security breach, an ardent fan of former Indian captain Saurav Ganguly managed to sneak into the cricket ground on Tuesday, when Pune Warriors were chasing the target against Deccan Chargers in the IPL match played at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium.
The youth managed to reach the middle of the pitch and tried to touch the feet of Ganguly and it took security personnel some time before they could react and pull away the fan. Taken aback, the policemen thrashed the youngster and whisked him away. The youngster was reportedly in a highly inebriated condition. According to police, the youngster managed to jump over the barricades and enter the pitch.
The incident took place during the 12th over of the second innings when the Charger's bowler Christian was bowling, and Ganguly and Robin Uthappa of the Warriors were at the crease. After bowling two balls, Christian suddenly threw up and the team staff had to enter the field to attend him.
'The youngster, clad in a blue T-shirt, managed to mingle with the ground staff, who were also wearing blue and managed to go near the players who had gathered near the pitch to have some refreshments while Christian was being attended to,' a police officer said.
The youngster went near the players and tried to touch the feet of Ganguly even as the latter tried to avoid him. The on-field umpire, Ameesh Saheeba also tried to stop the intruder, an eye witness told. 'It was difficult to notice the intruder in the field as Pune Warriors were also wearing the same colour jersey.
He was trying to touch the feet of Ganguly and there was commotion on the ground. But police were slow to react and entered only after five minutes,' the eye witness said.
Plainclothes policemen rushed to the pitch and grabbed the youngster, thrashed him and whisked away even as two of his friends, pleaded with the security personnel to spare their friend. 'The youngster seems to be an ardent fan of Ganguly. Even after being beaten by police, he still wanted to meet his favourite cricketer,' a police officer said.
Surprisingly, the highly 'spirited' fan managed to pass through a series of security checks into the stadium. The youth was later identified as Nitin Joshi from Basheerbagh, who is pursuing hotel management course in Australia.
News Posted: 11 May, 2011
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