When anti-India slogans turned cricket match into brawl:Sanjay Manjrekar recalls Karachi 1989 Test

New Delhi [India], November 11 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar reminisced on the Karachi 1989 Test against Pakistan, saying that during the course of the match, an intruder interrupted the proceedings by walking on the field and shouting anti-India slogans, which led to a "full blown scuffle" in the middle of the match with skipper Kris Srikkanth being a part of it.

Manjrekar was speaking on 'The Great Indian Cricket Show' on Doordarshan. He shared a dramatic memory from one of the most intense India-Pakistan encounters.

Manjrekar said, "During a match in Karachi, I was at mid-off when suddenly a man in local attire walked onto the field, shouting anti-India slogans. Before we could react, he charged straight at our captain, Krishnamachari Srikkanth."

He added, "What followed was surreal. A full-blown scuffle in the middle of a Test match! Srikkanth fought back, his shirt buttons ripped, and the game stopped as security scrambled to intervene."

Manjrekar further recalled, "The funniest part? Kiran More jumped in to defend his captain and started kicking the intruder with his pads still on! It was chaos, like a street fight on a cricket pitch," he concluded.

The incident took place during the first Test of India's 1989 tour of Pakistan at the National Stadium in Karachi, a series that marked Sachin Tendulkar's Test debut. The match ended in a draw. Also, the series ended in a 0-0 draw.

In the match at Karachi, India opted to field first and Pakistan posted 409 in the first innings, with a century from skipper Imran Khan (109*) being the headlining act aside from fifties from Shoaib Mohammad (67), and Javed Miandad (78). Kapil Dev secured a four-fer while Manoj Prabhakar got a five-wicket haul.

In their first innings, India was bundled out for 262, with Kapil Dev (55) and Kiran More (58) posting fifties and debutant Tendulkar scoring just 15. Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis took four-wickets each.

Saleem Malik (102*) and Shoaib Mohammad (95) increased Pakistan's lead to 452, scoring 305/5 declared. In the chase, Manjrekar (113*) and Navjot Sidhu (85) helped India reach 303/3 by the time both teams shook hands for a draw. (ANI)

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