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Indian fans apologise for 'shameful' incident

Supporters gather at team hotel and airport to condemn the bus incident that followed the second T20

The locals of Guwahati have led an impassioned apology to the Australian cricket team following a rock-throwing incident after their T20 win over India in the city this week.

As the Australians travelled to the LGB Airport on Wednesday for their flight to Hyderabad, fans gathered outside the team's hotel as well as the airport holding signs apologising on behalf of those who threw a rock at the team's bus the previous night. The projectile smashed one of the bus windows, but thankfully none of the players or staff inside were hurt.

Most of the handwritten signs simply read "sorry" while one labelled the incident "shameful".


It came as local and national government officials promised swift action against the alleged perpetrators, with two people already arrested over the incident.

Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore tweeted that the incident was "NOT reflective of our security measures" and maintained that "India remains a graceful host".

Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who has stated his desire for Guwahati to become 'the sports capital of India' condemned the attack, calling it "hooliganism" that was aimed at "defaming Assam & derailing its journey towards the top".

"Really unfortunate incident after a great game aimed to tarnish Guwahati's reputation as emerging sports hub. We strongly condemn it," he tweeted.


Australian spinner Adam Zampa said the incident did not reflect the behaviour of all Indian fans.

"The Indian fans are so great to us, which is one of the reasons why it's so hard to travel here," he said.

"They're so loud, they love cricket and they're so passionate about it.

"Guwahati doesn't get much cricket as it is so for one person to do that and to spoil it for the rest of the Indian fans, it's pretty disappointing."

The match at the new Barsapara Stadium was the first international in Guwahati since 2010.

Australia's Qantas Tour of India

Australia squad: David Warner (c), Jason Behrendorff, Dan Christian, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Tim Paine, Kane Richardson, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.

India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Axar Patel.


T20 Fixtures


October 7: JSCA International Stadium, Ranchi

October 10: Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati

October 13: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad