Man drives his car onto the pitch during Delhi-UP Ranji game

11/03/2017

The Delhi vs Uttar Pradesh Ranji match at the Air Force Sports Complex in New Delhi saw a major security breach as a man drove his car onto the field of play during the match today. A number of international players like Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, and Ishant Sharma were in action in the match.

In an age where cricket is so structured and secured, the game seems to have drifted far away from the fans who wish to reach out to their heroes. In that sense, the Ranji Trophy matches help the crowd connect better with the game and as a result, a few people could even manage to make their way to the 'restricted zones' for an autograph or a photograph clicked. However, the Delhi-UP Ranji Trophy match saw a completely different scenario as a man, named Girish Sharma, made his way onto the pitch with his car that halted the match for a while and put a question mark on Delhi and District Cricket Association’s security management.

The incident occurred during the fag end of the third day’s play between the two neighbouring states, at 4.40 pm, 20 minutes from the close of play after the match officials took the half-hour extension to make up for the slow over-rate. But suddenly the man drove his car onto the field twice, despite attempts from players and umpires to stop him. After examining the status of the wicket, the match referee deemed the pitch "playable" and declared that the match will begin as scheduled on the final day at 9.15am.

Palam Ground is under the authority of Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) and it was used for the match because the Feroz Shah Kotla was engaged for the first India-New Zealand Twenty20 International on Wednesday.