Bottle pelting to #SorryForCuttack; 12 Hrs is all it took

Odisha Sun Times Bureau

Bhubaneswar, Oct 6:

There sure was bitterness. There sure was despair. There sure was vexation that drove hundreds of cricket lovers to pelt water bottles towards the ground during the India-South Africa T20 at Odisha’s Barabati stadium yesterday.

However, as it has been said, time heals all wounds. At least that proved to be true in case of yesterday’s match. The very same frenzied cricket lovers who were in the stands pelting bottles, hurling abuses and clicking selfies of the bottles were the ones trending #SorryForCuttack on twitter the morning after.

While the incident has been condemned widely and the sole international cricket stadium of the state, in all likelihood, stands to be barred from hosting any international event for at least a year or two, the netizens took to social media to share their point of view.

And no, it was not just guilt. While some appeared to be really sorry at the turn of events, many others went on to justify it. Besides, there were questions pertaining to the performance of the players, examples of strong emotions associated with the game leading to drastic reactions and whatnot! Many didn’t spare the occasion to do what they do best on social media(read- crack jokes).

Right or wrong apart, here we bring you some of the select Facebook posts and Tweets.

Facebook:

Soumya Mohanty: OCA gave its Best on 5th Oct match…the police n the pvt security guard didn’t do their job properly. The water bottles that were taken inside the gallery were given by a private company by violating the rule and guideline of OCA.

We the people of Orissa are ashamed for what happened during the match….Due to some people Barabati stadium lost itz Name And Fame in front of the world…in 2016 Jan n A World cup was to be held…I think that will be cancelled n nothing more will happen.

Anand Pradhan Patanagarh: Public ka dimag kharaf hota he to police kya uska baap bhi nehi rok sakte…

Binayak Kumar Mahapatra: coz of ghatiya preparation by oca and police along with those pvt security

Twitter:

@arvindpadhee – Saddened wth d crowd behaviour at Barabati y’day. Wth T20, cricket no more a gntlmens’ game. @bhogleharsha

@nirjagth – Barabati fiasco: CM convenes emergency meeting; Chief secy, Police commissioner, DGP, secretaries of Home, Sports present #Odisha

@lahirip – Those who are scandalised by Cuttack incident have never watched Mohun bagan Vs East Bengal football matches

@ssmohanty10 – Win, lose or draw…..this is the worst conceivable day for an odiya cricket fan… Katak and Barabati has shamed the entire state.

@Atheist_Krishna – Real reason why Barabati crowd was throwing bottles.  They spotted Ashutosh on the boundry.

@sambit_dash – Shameful incident at #Cuttack. Now Barabati stadium will go back to host weddings etc 😉

@hemalatapanda4 – For the incidence peoples non sportive attitude and police who was in charge of stadium for law and order.

@OdiaCulture – We, the people of Odisha, apologize for the unruly behavior of a section of crowd during yesterday’s match #SorryForCuttack

@tweetingasit – No matter how much we apologise but we can’t undo the sin committed today by disrespecting the game

What exactly happened!

Angry Indian fans hurled water bottles towards the ground during the match at the Barabati stadium after the Indian team was bowled out for 92, their second-lowest total in T20 matches. The first bottle pelting occurred during the break between innings and it was repeated after 11 overs of the South African innings, stalling the match up to 27 minutes.

The match resumed, but it was stopped once again after two more overs for another 24 minutes as security forces cleared the section of the crowd that was causing the disruption and pelting water bottles.

While Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni played down the incident saying it never threatened the security of the players and it happened at others places too, Former Indian Skipper Sunil Gavaskar blasted the security personnel and stated that Barabati Stadium in Cuttack should be banned as an international venue for two years.

The stadium, that has hosted two Tests and 18 one-day internationals since 1982, is not a venue for next year’s World Twenty20 to be held in India.

Notably, in another significant development, in a high level meeting attended by state police DG and Chief Secretary, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today directed the Principal Secretary of Home Department to inquire into the matter and submit report within a month.