An Indian fan of Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma ran onto the field to meet his idol during their Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), in the hopes of hugging his favourite player on the pitch. The 26-year-old man was then arrested by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Police on Sunday for entering the MCA Stadium during the match. The man was initially booked by the cops on charges of trespassing and creating ruckus as he was seen giving fist bumps to Rohit Sharma and then Virat Kohli before being escorted out.
During the second innings of the game when RCB were batting, the fan made a darting run onto the field, raising concerns about the security at the stadium in Pune. Upon reaching Rohit, the fan tried to hug the Team India skipper but his request was denied in light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, the fan was greeted with a virtual hug.
During the incident, RCB's former skipper Kohli was at the crease, and the hard-hitting batter also provided a solution, suggesting that Rohit ''fist-bump'' his fans.
This incident involved two of India's greatest players soon became the talk of the town on the internet. This was also not the first time that fans tried to invade the pitch in the hopes of meeting their idols.
Earlier, four Kohli fans were reportedly arrested for breaching the security at the Chinnaswamy Stadium during the Day and Night Test match between Rohit-led Team India and Sri Lanka last month. During New Zealand’s tour of India in 2021, a pitch-invader had even tried to touch Rohit's feet when the second T20I between the two sides was taking place at Ranchi.
The Mumbai-based outfit, who have won the IPL a record five times, have had a dismal start to their campaign. Having lost their last three matches prior to the game against RCB, the side were expected to turn their fortunes but to no avail.
If not for Suryakumar Yadav's unbeaten 37-ball 68, Mumbai would not have been able to post a target of 151, but their bowlers were also below par, with only Dewald Brewis and Jaydev Unadkat picking up wickets.
Meanwhile, Kohli also missed out on the chance of completing his first 50 of the season after a controversial dismissal when he was on 48 runs.
RCB were on course to a victory while chasing 152 runs Kohli was dismissed on the first delivery off Brevis. The on-field umpire adjudged leg before wicket but Kohli immediately reviewed the decision, knowing that he had edged the ball. Kohli used the DRS but to no avail.
While walking back to the pavilion, Kohli also smashed his bat on the ground. By the time he got out, the Challengers were already in a commanding position. In the end, they won the game by seven wickets with nine balls left.
