A spectator breached the security and invaded the pitch to hug Team India skipper Rohit Sharma during the T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up match against Bangladesh at the Nassau International Cricket Stadium in New York on Saturday, June 1.
After posting a total of 182/5, thanks to Rishabh Pant's 53 and Hardik Pandya'e unbeaten quickfire knock of 40 off 23 balls, India set the target of 183 for Bangladesh to chase in a stipulated 20 overs.
During the second innings, a fan suddenly invaded the pitch and ran towards Rohit Sharma to hug him. The USA police quickly intervened and tried to take him off the field. The two policemen were spotted pushing the pitch Invader down to the ground.
However, Rohit Sharma intervened and asked the US policemen to be kind and go easy with the spectator who invaded the pitch. The India skipper checked on the pitch Invader before he was taken off the field in order to avoid further interruption of the match.
Meanwhile, Team India won the only warm-up match by 62 runs after circumscribing Bangladesh to 122/9 in 20 overs. Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj triggered an early collapse in Bangladesh's batting line-up, reducing them to 10/3 in 3.5 overs. Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya further toppled opponent's batting and Bangladesh were at 41/5 in 8.2 overs.
Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan formed 69-run partnership for the sixth wicket until he was retired hurt after scoring 40 off 28 balls. Then, Jasprit Bumrah ended Shakib's stay at the crease by dismissing for 28 at 116/8. Then, Shivam Dube picked a couple of wickets before India restricted to Bangladesh to 122/9.
'Important to get used to conditions': Rohit Sharma
Team India skipper Rohit Sharma emphasised the importance of warm-up match ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024. He also explained the reason behind sending Rishabh Pant at no.3.
"Quite happy with how things went, got what we wanted with the game. Important to get used to conditions. New venue, new ground and drop-in pitch." Rohit said after the match.
"(On Pant batting at 3) Just to give him an opportunity. We haven’t nailed the batting line-up yet, we wanted most guys to get a hit in the middle." he added.
India are clubbed in Group A alongside hosts USA, arch-rivals Pakistan, Ireland and Canada.
Team India will begin their T20 World Cup title quest against Ireland at the Nassau International Cricket Stadium in New York on Thursday, June 6.
