[Watch] When a female fan sprinted to kiss an Indian cricketer after he completed a half-century in a Test match
There have been numerous instances of overenthusiastic fans breaching security to meet their favorite cricket players during a match. In recent years, members of the crowd have run towards superstars like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and have hugged them. Some ardent followers have even touched their feet.
Fans demonstrating their hero worship for players on the cricket field is nothing new though. Way back in 1975, a rather amusing incident took place wherein a young sari-clad female fan breached security and sprinted towards former India batter Brijesh Patel, who had just completed his half-century in a Test match.
The famous incident took place at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in the fifth and final Test of the India vs West Indies series. Immediately after Patel completed his half-century in the fourth innings of the match, a woman was captured dodging the police and reaching the pitch area. She eventually ended up planting a kiss on the Indian cricketer, who could only blush in amusement.
[Watch the throwback video below]
Speaking of the fifth India vs West Indies Test that was played in January 1975, the hosts lost the match by 201 runs to concede the hard-fought series 3-2. India were set to score a mammoth 404 runs for victory in the Mumbai Test. Patel top-scored with 73*, hitting nine fours and two sixes. India, however, folded up for 202 as Vanburn Holder claimed 6-39, while Lance Gibbs picked up 2-45.
About former India cricketer Brijesh Patel
A former India and Karnataka middle-order batter, Patel featured in 21 Test matches for India, scoring 972 runs at an average of 29.45, with one hundred and five half-centuries. His only three-figure score in Test cricket was registered against the mighty West Indies at Port of Spain in 1976. Patel scored 115* in India's first innings in the drawn encounter.
The 71-year-old also played 10 one-day matches, scoring 243 runs at an average of 30.37, with a best of 82. He tasted a lot more success at the domestic level. Patel scored nearly 12000 runs in first-class games, with 37 hundreds to his name. Post retirement, he turned into an administrator and was the Indian Premier League chairman (IPL) between 2019 and 2022.