Hyderabad, January 22: A cricket match featuring Hyderabad XI and Andhra XI in the inaugural Deccan Twenty-20 Cup championship was abandoned after pro-Telangana agitators shouting slogans invaded the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium at Uppal here on Thursday afternoon.
The slogan shouting agitators moved onto the field within half-an-hour of the commencement of the Andhra-Hyderabad match. The agitators sat in the stands during an earlier match between Deccan Chargers and Orissa raised slogans. And as the Andhra – Hyderabad match commenced, nearly 100 of them trooped into the playing area, uprooted stumps and staged a virtual sit-in shouting slogans against the Andhra players stating they will not allow them to play here.
Sensing trouble, the Andhra batsmen at the crease and the entire Hyderabad team ran back to the pavilion for cover. Later, the police moved in and took into custody some of the agitators.
The match was declared officially abandoned and the two teams were awarded one point each.
A disappointed HCA joint secretary D. S. Chalapathi said he did not expect such trouble at a sporting event. “Definitely, we will take more precautions on the security front in future. Right now, the tournament is on,” he said. Ironically, the organizers had issued paper advertisements inviting the fans to watch the inaugural edition. Apparently, they did not foresee a sporting event to be disturbed.
This is the first sporting event which was affected in the State capital after the agitation for bifurcation.
–Agencies