Delhi hurt in pitch battle

“A dangerous pitch” — as the 22-yard strip was termed by match officials — evoked a very dangerous reaction from the crowd gathered at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium to watch the fifth one-day international cricket match between India and Sri Lanka on Sunday.

“A dangerous pitch” — as the 22-yard strip was termed by match officials — evoked a very dangerous reaction from the crowd gathered at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium to watch the fifth one-day international cricket match between India and Sri Lanka on Sunday.

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The match was called off as early as the 24th over of the match, leaving the spectators incensed. The 40,000-strong crowd destroyed seats, flung empty bottles to the ground, pelted stones and tore down advertisement hoardings.

The spectators, including visitors from suburban towns, were disappointed due to long delays in play and lost their temper as soon as the match was called off.

“I knew things were awry when play was stopped for the second time,” said Prashant Singh (26), a sales executive.

A resident of Kashmere Gate, Singh decided to exit the stadium with his friends even before the match was formally called off, sensing the anger in his co-spectators amid banners demanding their money back from the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA).

“Made to stand for long security checks and paying almost double for the tickets, people were already angry. My friends and I decided to get out before things got out of hand, and to avoid a stampede,” he said.

The play was stopped at 11.20 a.m. just over an hour after an on-field conference between match officials and the two captains.

As soon as the meeting got over, the giant scoreboard flashed a message saying the match had been called off, leading to roars of disapproval from the crowd.

“We came here to see a cricket match, not to return home in this manner. This is very disappointing,” said Manan Mehta, a spectator.

Many disappointed spectators questioned how the capital could host the Commonwealth Games “if things are allowed to continue in the same manner”. “If this is what sporting officials have to offer, I wonder how Delhi will host mega events such as the 2010 Games,” said Pankaj, a software engineer.

“Is this the kind of wicket they will produce for the 2011 World Cup?” he said.

‘Nothing happened’
The police said there was no commotion at Ferozeshah Kotla on Sunday morning.

“Pre-emptive measures to ensure spectator safety were employed immediately after the match was called off,” said Jaspal Singh, deputy commissioner of police, central Delhi.

“Though they were dejected as they were expecting a nice time on a Sunday, the crowd was more or less well behaved and posed no problems....”