In another security breach at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, a spectator reached the pitch to touch Virat Kohli's feet and forcefully embrace him during Royal Challengers Bengaluru's innings against Punjab Kings in IPL 2024.
Stadium staff reached the fan as he was touching the feet, but he managed to stand and hug Kohli until more security personnel came and escorted him off. Watch the video of the incident here:
Such security breaches have been common in the last few years. Even in the Women's Premier League (WPL) at the end of the last month, a fan tried to run the course of the pitch with a piece of cloth in his hand during a match between the UP Warriroz and the Mumbai Indians.
Warrioz captain Alyssa Healy even tried to stop him, but failed.
"It was silly on my part, but he too made a dumb choice to run on the pitch. That was all that really happened," Healy told the Times of India in a recent interview. "I didn't do much, maybe my tackle technique needs some work (laughs)."
Some students who have jumped the fences to meet their favorite stars have been arrested. The incident has again raised concerns about the adeptness of stadium staff as well the players' security while they're on the pitch.
Virat Kohli scores a brilliant 50 after invader leaves
PBKS batted first and set up a total of 176/6 in 20 overs, thanks to Shikhar Dhawan's 45 (37) and Jitesh Sharma's 27 (20).
During the second innings, chase-master Kohli has looked in sublime touch from the onset on Sunday, getting a host of boundaries away against Sam Curran and then took on the visitors' spinners. He reached his half-century in 31 balls in the 10th over and looked in no mood to stop. Catch all the live action here.
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