India's loss to Bangladesh sparks protests by angry fans..

India's loss to Bangladesh sparks protests by angry fans

Cricket fans in several cities today gave vent to their anger at the Indian team's embarrassing loss to Bangladesh in the World Cup, burning posters and effigies of players and shouting slogans against their fallen heroes.

In wicketkeeper M S Dhoni's hometown Ranchi, about two dozen people gathered near a house being built on a plot of land given to him by the Jharkhand Governemnt and set alight an effigy to which the player's poster was pasted.

The jeering people shouted slogans and asked the government to take back the plot allotted to Dhoni, who was out for a nought in yesterday's game in the West Indies.

Following the protest, police stepped up vigil at the site and Dhoni's home at Mecon in Ranchi.

In Kanpur, cricket lovers assembled in Lal Bungalow and torched effigies of the out-of-form Virender Sehwag, Dhoni and others, while disappointed fans in Jalandhar held a protest march and burnt posters of several players, including local boy Harbhajan Singh, Sehwag, skipper Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar.

India suffered a shocking five-wicket loss to the minnows and Dravid's decision to bat first drew flak from protestors in many places.

"Such a poor performance by the Indian team in its first match, that too against a weak team like Bangladesh, has broken our hearts as we organised havans for the success of the team in the World Cup," said a fan in Jalandhar.

Protesters in Allahabad called for the re-inclusion of Mohammad Kaif in the team in place of Sehwag. Fans held protests in several parts of the city, lambasting the team for its "shameful defeat" at the hands of Bangladesh.