There were only a couple of things different about the security at the Brabourne Stadium for this high-tension, livewire Twenty20 game between Australia and India.
The first was the number of security people, which seemed unusually high (even for a high-profile game) and the second was sight of policemen edgily holding expensive-looking video cameras and roaming around the stands.
They were there to keep an eye on spectators, to probably record any instances of racial or verbal abuse they spotted, or perhaps to just let the cameras randomly roam. Now whether some of these policemen would be able to understand any over-the-top verbal sledging in English from the swish set in the crowd is debateable, but that is another story.
And of course, there were the announcements on the PA system at the break warning people to desist from racial or verbal abuse or face expulsion from the ground and legal action.
For the most though, the security was similar to what you get in any one-day game anywhere in the country. In addition to the Mumbai cops, you had people from the Mumbai-based Krystal Security, who also handled the security at the Wankhede.
Initially, if you were an early bird walking into the stadium, the security was very tight. Tough looking personnel — about 10-15 — manned each gate and no one was allowed to carry in anything remotely suspicious. But as match-time approached, and wave after wave of people entered the area, the frisking became far more lax.
{{/usCountry}}Initially, if you were an early bird walking into the stadium, the security was very tight. Tough looking personnel — about 10-15 — manned each gate and no one was allowed to carry in anything remotely suspicious. But as match-time approached, and wave after wave of people entered the area, the frisking became far more lax.
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