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Camp shifted as fans intrude ground

September 05, 2006 19:44 IST

The Indian cricket team's ongoing camp in Bangalore was disrupted on Tuesday when fans watching the proceedings intruded the ground and mobbed batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, forcing the session to be shifted to an adjacent venue.

The incident occurred after a barbed wire fence, in the compound of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (B) ground, on which a dozen people were leaning heavily came down.

The fans crashed to the footpath with their backs to the ground.

At least three persons suffered injuries, including one in the head, resulting in profuse bleeding, but it was not life-threatening, police said.

The crash brought the training session, which was being conducted by coach Greg Chappell, to a stand-still.

A few fans watching the nets from the sidelines took advantage of the commotion, entered the ground and mobbed Tendulkar. From a distance it appeared that they virtually forced the batting maestro to pose for photographs along with them.

Scores of others who were watching the practice session, involving skipper Rahul Dravid, Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Ramesh Powar and V R V Singh, from trees, quietly climbed down and took to their heels, fearing a crackdown on them.

As more people tried to get into the training area, in what seemed a security lapse, an angry Dravid shouted at the top of his voice, "Get out", before summoning security personnel to bring the situation under control.

The incident forced the shifting of the 'rolling camp' to the adjacent M A Chinnaswamy stadium.

As Tendulkar walked back to the National Cricket Academy in the same premises, he was pestered by a man, who wanted him to pose for a photograph.

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