Wayne Johnson, the Pro-Palestine supporter who invaded the pitch during the World Cup 2023 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday (November 19) has been sent to a one-day remand by a local court following his arrest.
The remand will last till 5 PM IST (Indian Standard Time) on November 21. Johnson is an Australian of Chinese-Filipino origin and was arrested and taken to the Chand Kheda Police station in Ahmedabad, as per the news agency PTI (Press Trust of India).
Johnson breached the security at the venue during the 14th over of India's innings, right before the first drinks break and approached Virat Kohli in the middle before getting nabbed by the security officials and escorted off the field of play. He sported a "Free Palestine" and "Stop bombing Palestine" T-shirt to draw the attention of the world to the ongoing Israel-Palestine armed conflict.
The play resumed shortly after the brief pause and saw Australia script a domineering display. India's power-packed batting line-up succumbed to relentless pressure that was applied by the Aussie pace bowling cartel comprising Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.
Starc was the pick of all the Aussie bowlers. The left-arm spearhead of the pace attack bagged three wickets and conceded 55 runs in his 10 overs. Cummins, on the other hand, snared two wickets, including the prized scalp of a well-set Virat who was batting on 54 runs off 63 balls.
Hazlewood, though, was slightly on the expensive side of the spectrum as he gave away 60 runs in his 10 overs at six runs per over, managed to put an end to India's hopes of posting a total in excess of 280 to 290. Hazlewood claimed the wickets of Ravindra Jadeja and Suryakumar Yadav and denied the Men in Blue the final flourish they wanted.
