Sundar dazzles in Pune as fans struggle with heat and dehydration

Spectators at the MCA Stadium in Pune faced chaos and health issues due to a lack of water on a hot, humid day during the first day of the second Test between India and New Zealand. Many fans queued for water during the lunch break but found it unavailable, leading to police intervention to manage the crowd. Around 20 people reported symptoms of dehydration and required assistance at a first-aid kiosk, with staff noting additional cases in other areas of the stadium.   Check India vs New Zealand 2nd Test Day 2 LIVE SCORE and MATCH UPDATES HERE

 

The MCA Stadium, which can hold 37,000 people, saw around 18,000 attendees, many of whom had to endure the heat since only six of the stands are covered. Although the MCA had initially promised free water, fans resorted to purchasing expensive bottled water from vendors. One fan mentioned spending more on water than his match ticket. 

 

After water became available, MCA secretary Kamlesh Pisal apologized to fans and announced plans to install more water booths across the stands from Friday. He assured attendees that such issues would not occur again.  "We can only apologise to the fans for inconvenience caused. But we want to assure them, through MCA, that this won't be repeated, and everything will be taken care of." Pisal said.  "Considering the scorching heat, we had decided to provide cold water. In our previous experience, the fans had complained about us providing warm water or boiling water. We, as management, thought we would provide them with cold water, so we had kept cool cages. Once the water in cool cages finished, we tried to refill it with the same cold water, and in that process, it got delayed. We have done a recce of the entire water in stands and will make sure everything is refilled properly tonight to avoid such situations."