Fan breaches security to greet Tendulkar

New Delhi: An over-enthusiastic young fan on Sunday escaped the eyes of the Airforce Police deployed at the Palam ground and entered the field of play to greet Sachin Tendulkar, who is playing for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Services.

For the first four days, civilians were not allowed to enter the venue as most of them clung onto the ground railing to watch Tendulkar's every movement. On Sunday, the gates were opened for the general public and around 500-odd spectators entered the ground. The incident occured in the post-tea session when a young man in his mid-20's suddenly raced towards Tendulkar, who was fielding at the mid-on position.

Gauging his enthusiasm, Tendulkar offered to shake hands but the fan touched his feet, leaving the senior cricketer a trifle embarrassed. The Airforce policemen then caught hold of the man and brought him outside the ground.

The incident occured in the post-tea session when a boy raced towards Tendulkar, who was fielding at the mid-on position.

"He was an over-enthusiastic fan. We scolded the boy and gave him stern warning," Air Commodore Baladitya said.

This is the second time in successive games that a fan had invaded the ground to greet Tendulkar. In the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Baroda, a middle-aged man entered the Wankhede Stadium to touch Tendulkar's feet after he reached the three-figure mark.

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