India vs South Africa: Sachin Tendulkar Urges Fans To Show Maturity After Cuttack Incident

Sachin Tendulkar feels unruly crowd behaviour during the Cuttack Twenty20 was not good for the sport and exhorted the fans of the gentleman's game to learn from the forgettable incident. (Incidents of Fan Brawls That Shamed The Gentleman's Game)

"What happened during the game is definitely not good for the game. It has happened earlier also. We need learn from these mistakes. We are all passionate about the game. We all love the game so we get disappointed and frustrated at times. There are ways to express that but what happened in Cuttack is certainly not the to way show your emotions," the batting legend told NDTV.

Tendulkar said that he expects more maturity from the fans. "I would request all the fans to think about it (over what happened), show some maturity. There are better ways of dealing with disappointment and frustration," added the master blaster.

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.

(With inputs from PTI)