India vs South Africa Twenty20I: BCCI Wants Report on Cuttack Violence in 48 Hours
South Africa's victory march against India in the second Twenty20I at Cuttack's Barabati Stadium was interrupted by a bottle-throwing crowd. BCCI is not amused.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India, on Wednesday, has asked the Odisha Cricket Association to submit within 48 hours a report on the crowd violence during the second Twenty20 international in Cuttack on Monday. A section of the Barabati Stadium crowd threw bottles to disrupt South Africa's run-chase after India were skittled out for a paltry 92, their lowest T20 total at home. (Incidents of Fan Brawls That Shamed Indian Cricket)
India lost by six wickets to hand South Africa an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series but the BCCI is clearly upset at the lack of security arrangements made by the OCA. Play was held up twice as fans threw water bottles from the stands. Lack of timely action from the police only added to the problem. (Sunil Gavaskar Blasts Odisha Police For Crowd Violence)
"We decided to let spectators carry water bottles so that they can cope better with the sweltering heat and not have to climb down three storeys every time they had to drink water," said OCA secretary Asirbad Behera, who added that only about "100-150 fans" in a capacity crowd of 45,000 played spoilsport. (Sunil Gavaskar Not The Authority To Decide on International Venues: Behera)
There have been mixed reactions to the Cuttack incident. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni played down the incident saying it was "not a serious" but former Test captain and TV commentator Sunil Gavaskar called for a "two-year" ban on Cuttack hosting international games. South African skipper Faf du Plessis was also upset with the incident. (Odisha CM Orders Probe Into Crowd Violence)
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik ordered a probe on Tuesday and sought a report within a month but the OCA will first have to deal with BCCI. A censure from International Cricket Council cannot be ruled out.
This was the first time that Barabati Stadium was hosting a Twenty20 international. Cuttack has generally been a trouble free venue with no reports of poor crowd behaviour in over 30 years.
(With inputs from Tazeen Qureshy)