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Gavaskar calls for change after crowd trouble

India great says a strong message must be sent after play was brought to a halt in Monday's T20 against South Africa

Sunil Gavaskar has led calls for Cuttack in India to be banned as a cricket venue after crowd trouble twice brought a halt to play in a Twenty20 international against South Africa.

Angry Indian fans hurled water bottles onto the field of play in Monday night's match after the hosts were bowled out for 92, their second-lowest ever total in T20 matches.

Quick single: Crowd trouble mars Proteas series win

The Proteas sauntered to a six-wicket victory but not before match referee Chris Broad ordered organisers to provide additional security in the packed stands.

"There has to be a deterrent, you cannot allow that to happen," Gavaskar told local TV. 

"I would imagine that the next time they are due for an international game, that should not be given to them.

"Maybe it will be another two years before Cuttack gets a game, but that game should not be given to them and it should be announced that it has not been given to them because of crowd behaviour.

"Quite clearly a strong message has to be sent."

The first bottle-throwing incident came in the break between innings, but when it happened again after 11 overs of the South African innings, the match was held up for 27 minutes.

When play resumed, it was stopped again after two overs for another 24 minutes as security forces cleared the section of the crowd that was causing the disruption.

The rest of the game passed off without further incident, allowing the Proteas to win comfortably and take a decisive 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

South Africa's T20 captain Faf du Plessis, who turns out for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, said it had saddened him.

"I have been playing in India for the last five to six years and never ever have I witnessed such an incident," he told reporters.

"I don't think it's nice for cricket. Hopefully, it's the first and last time I'm seeing such a thing."

India's limited-overs captain MS Dhoni played down the bottle-throwing, saying it never threatened the players.

"Frankly, from a safety point of view, I don't think there was a very serious threat," Dhoni said at the post-match briefing.

"We didn't play well - at times you get reactions like this.

"We should not read too much into it."