Cuttack Joins Hall of Shame in International Cricket After Security Lets Odisha Down

That cricket is no more a gentleman's game was proven once more on Monday night. Channelising aggression is easier said than done. The players fail to do it on the ground and fans on the stands are vulnerable as well.

Captain Cool, miles away from the Virat Kohli school of thinking, blamed India's poor cricket for the interruption in play at the famous Barabati Stadium. Just like several players, modern fans are on a short fuse and under stress to behave.

India collapsed to their lowest T20 international - 92 all out - at home and a packed Barabati Stadium showed its displeasure as South Africa marched to a comfortable victory. The six-wicket win not only enabled South Africa take an unbeatable 2-0 lead but it put Cuttack into cricket's Hall of Shame.

There were three interruptions. The first one after India were bowled out in 17.2 overs didn't stop play. Two big runouts and three zeroes were fuel enough to trigger a backlash in a section of the nearly 45,000 fans who paid their way inside Barabati, hosting its first ever T20 international.

The second stoppage came after 11 overs. South Africa were in a commanding position and a section of the crowd threw water bottles to vent their frustration. Play was stopped for 27 minutes with players enjoying the forced 'break' on a humid evening. (Pics: Barabati Joins Cricket's Hall of Shame)

After play resumed at 10 pm another spate of bottle throwing forced the players to return to the pavilion. Match referee Chris Broad patiently waited for normalcy to return as the Orissa Cricket Association officials and Police seemed all at sea. After police cleared off a section of the unruly stand, play resumed after 24 minutes and South Africa completed India's last rites.

Dhoni said poor crowd behaviour was a reflection of India's poor cricket. "The reaction of the crowd, you know, we didn't play well, so at times you get reactions like this. It's only the first bottle. After that they start throwing for fun. We shouldn't read too much into it," Dhoni said. (Gavaskar Wants Cuttack to Be Banned From Hosting International Matches)

Hostile crowd behaviour is not uncommon in India's cricket grounds. The famous and knowledgeable Eden Gardens saw bitter crowd reaction when India were losing to Sri Lanka in a semifinal match of the 1996 World Cup.

Chasing 252, India had collapsed to 120 for 8 from 98 for 2. Sachin Tendulkar's dismissal triggered pandemonium as spectators set fire to a section of the stands and threw missiles onto the pitch. The riot turned so ugly that match referee Clive Lloyd had no other option but to award the match to Sri Lanka by default.

The Kolkata match of the inaugural Asian Test Championship in February 1999 not only smashed a 63-year-old attendance record for the highest aggregate at a Test but shamed Eden Gardens for the second time in three years. Once again Tendulkar was in the centre of a storm as a controversial run out involving Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar was enough to start mayhem in the stands.

As Wisden observed, a mouth-watering contest ended in silence and "watched by a few officials, VIPs, journalists and police, after the crowd was forcibly expelled because of a riot".

Wisden reported: "Spectators started burning newspapers in the stands and hurled stones, fruit and plastic bottles on to the field. The match was held up for over three hours as about 65,000 people were removed by police and security men.

"The crowd's anger was still concentrated on Tendulkar's run-out, but there was little viciousness in the riot; it was born of disappointment rather than anti-Pakistan feeling. There was no sign of violence outside the ground."

Odisha's abject failure to handle security was clear. More surprising because the association's chief, Ranjib Biswal, has managed the national team in several international assignments across the globe and knows a lot about security for players and fans.

With the star-struck police failing in their job to manage security, Odisha could well face international censure.