Five ugly fan incidents in India-Pakistan cricket matches

Saturday's India-Pakistan World Cup clash will be remembered for fan hooliganism. But such incidents have also happened in the past

By Team KT

Published: Thu 19 Oct 2023, 9:55 AM

Last updated: Thu 19 Oct 2023, 11:49 AM

Saturday's India-Pakistan encounter at the ICC World Cup will go down as one of the most-watched games in cricket history.

But it will also be remembered for the wrong reasons – fan hooliganism.

What happened at the iconic 132,000 seater Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad, was lamentable as some Indian fans hurled abuse at Pakistan batsmen when the batters were walking back to the dressing room following their dismissal.

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The Pakistan Cricket Board has complained to the International Cricket Council for the fans' 'improper conduct'.

Even former Indian player Gautam Gambhir condemned the boorish behaviour of these fans.

But India-Pakistan matches are littered with such incidents caused by unruly spectators.

Let’s look at five such incidents that have shamed the game forever.

Fan attacks Srikkanth in Karachi Test match (1989)

Indian skipper Krishnamachari Srikkanth became the unfortunate target of an incensed fan in the 1989 Test match at Karachi. It was the same Test match in which a 16-year-old Sachin Tendulkar made his international debut. As the fan invaded the pitch and began threatening the Indian fielders, skipper Srikkanth intervened and attempted to diffuse the situation, but it backfired. A brawl ensued and Srikkanth ended up being roughed-up and his shirt was ripped apart. According to Chandu Borde, who was the team manager, Mohammad Azharuddin was also attacked by the fan.

Match abandoned due to unruly fans in Karachi (1989)

The Krish Srikkanth-led India were also involved in another ugly incident during their long tour of Pakistan in 1989. It happened during the third one-day match in Karachi when the crowd, angered at the loss of three of the specialist Pakistani batsmen for 40 runs, began pelting stones at Indian fielders. The Indian team ran for cover to the centre of the pitch as local boy Javed Miandad made a futile bid to pacify the crowd. The match was called off and restarted in Lahore where the home team won to claim a series victory.

When Pakistan fielders wore helmets in Ahmedabad (1987)

Sometimes sport is war, but it was very unusual to see six Pakistan players wearing helmets while fielding near the boundary line to protect themselves from objects being thrown at them from the stands in the 1987 Ahmedabad Test match. Only when Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev pleaded with the crowd did they stop and Gavaskar would go on to became the first man to score 10,000 Test runs.

More trouble in Karachi (1997)

It would appear that fans in Karachi came to watch the second ODI match between India and Pakistan, with their pockets full of stones. The match, which was part of Pakistan’s 50th independence anniversary celebrations, was stopped four times because fans threw stones at Indian fielders. After a player walk out, the game was reduced to 47 overs and India were set a target of 266 to win, which they reached thanks to a sparkling century by Sourav Ganguly.

Unruly fans evicted from Eden Gardens (1999)

Pakistan won a gripping Test match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 1999, but there were no crowds to watch their victory! India, who were chasing a target of 279 in the fourth innings, saw Sachin Tendulkar fall to a controversial run out decision. The fans went berserk and threw stones, bottles and footwear at the Pakistani fielders. The match was stopped, and Tendulkar appealed to the crowd to calm down. The organisers eventually decided to evict all the fans from the stadium. The match resumed and Pakistan completed a well-deserved victory. But it was strange to see the grand finish in an empty stadium.

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