11 October,2017 01:38 PM IST | | mid-day online correspondent
Australian cricket team defeated India with a stellar performance in the second T20I at Guwahati to level the series 1-1, but it came with a price
The Australian cricket team survived a security scare after the second T20 International against India, when a "rock" was thrown at the team bus, leaving the visiting players scared. Luckily, no player got injured as the nearest seat to the window pane remained unoccupied but raised a question mark on Assam Cricket Association and state police's security arrangement for the match at the newly constructed stadium in Barsapara.
Australia's Moises Henriques and Tim Head celebrate after winning the match. Pic/ AFP
"In a remarkable piece of good fortune, no one was sitting on the seat next to the window when it was broken," CA's report said.
"While no one was injured, the Australian players were understandably shaken up by the incident."
The Assam Cricket Association secretary Pradip Buragohain informed that it happened when the team was heading back to the hotel after beating India by eight wickets in the second T20 International. "We made every attempt to ensure a foolproof security but don't know how this happened. It was near the team hotel and not at the crowded street near the stadium," Buragohain told PTI today. "The police have already arrested two persons and are investigating into the matter. I can assure that such incident won't occur in future again. There will be a thick security cover when the Australian team leaves for Hyderabad," he added
Australia's team bus was also struck by a rock in Bangladesh five weeks ago as it travelled back to a hotel following the first day's play of the second and final test against the home side in Chittagong. That prompted authorities to tighten security around the Australia team.
Australian cricket team bus attacked with a stone. Pic Courtesy/ Aaron Finch's twitter
Australia opening batsman Aaron Finch posted a photo of a shattered window on a bus on Twitter. "Pretty scary having a rock thrown through the team bus window on the way back to the hotel!!" he tweeted.
Indian cricketers and Twitter users immediately reacted with tweets apologising for the incident. Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin posted a tweet.
Himanta Biswa Sharma, the Minister of Government of Assam also posted on social media with a sincere apology.
The state association also faced criticism from journalists with complete mismanagement at the media box. It proved to be a nightmare for journalists, who struggled with the basic facilities like the internet to cover the match but it fell on deaf ears of the ACA.
There was no internet connectivity in the media box, which had one TV to cater to about 250 journalists, while the washroom ran out of power.
However what worked inside the media box was the public address system that played out songs and "welcomed" the spectators with loud announcements till it was forced to be disconnected.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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