In a serious, security breach, a man drove his car into the pitch at the Air Force Sports Complex in Palam in New Delhi on Friday during the Ranji Trophy match between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
A major security breach at the venue allowed the man to come inside the ground when international players like Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma, Suresh Raina and Rishabh Pant were in action in this particular match.
At around 4:40 pm, 20 minutes from close of play, a silver grey Wagon R suddenly drove onto the field of play with Uttar Pradesh batting in their second innings. The man, who identified himself as Girish Sharma, tried to swerve his car twice on the 22-yard strip before stopping, an eyewitness said.
It was learnt that the main gate of the Air-force ground, which only allows entry of cars after proper checking remained open with the security not in his position. This allowed the man free access inside the complex and instead of moving towards the designated parking lot, which is behind the main pavilion, he drove straight towards the field of play, leaving everybody in a state of shock.
Later, the match referee took a good look at the pitch and then only allowed the play to resume. The end of day's play was extended by 20 minutes to make up for the lost time.
The security personnel at the ground swung into action after this and closed the gate in order to stop the man from fleeing. The allegedly inebriated man was first detained by the Air-force Police before being handed over to the Delhi Police for interrogation.