Indian stars Ishant Sharma and Suresh Raina, both of whom are currently plying their trades in the ongoing Ranji Trophy, expressed their disappointment after a shocking pitch invasion halted the game at Delhi’s Palam ground on Friday (November 3). Delhi usually plays its home game at the Feroz Shah Kotla, but the venue was shifted because of the first T20I between India and New Zealand.
In a shocking incident, a man drove his car into the playing area and on to the pitch, when Uttar Pradesh was batting against Delhi, forcing a lengthy interruption to the match. In addition to Raina and Ishant, some other notable players in the field were Gautam Gambhir, Rishabh Pant, and Unmukt Chand. As per reports, the players had initially tried to stop the car from driving on to the pitch but without much success as the man drove his four-wheeler twice on the pitch before being nabbed by the security personnel.
Shocked by the incident, Raina and Ishant took to Twitter to express their surprise as well as a relief as no player was injured.
“Very disturbing to see our Ranji Trophy game being interrupted in this fashion today! Thankfully all players are safe,” Raina wrote on Twitter.
Very disturbing to see our Ranji Trophy game being interrupted in this fashion today! Thankfully all players are safe ?? pic.twitter.com/OuErA8O6aI
— Suresh Raina?? (@ImRaina) November 3, 2017
On the other hand, Ishant saw the funny side of the incident as he tweeted:“Drive in theater just progressed to #DriveIn match. Shocking scene in between #RanjiTrophy match today witnessed with @GautamGambhir”
Drive in theater just progressed to #DriveIn match. Shocking scene in between #RanjiTrophy match today witnessed with @GautamGambhir
I:NDTV pic.twitter.com/fNq44TlZBZ— Ishant Sharma (@ImIshant) November 3, 2017
“I was on my way back (home) after dropping my sister at the domestic airport. She was flying to Bengaluru. On my way, I saw that a cricket match was being played at the Palam Grounds. After realising that no one was guarding the entry gate, I took my car on to the field and tried to meet the players,” the culprit was later quoted as saying by The Times of India.
Video of the day: