Ticketless Afghan fans throng Dubai stadium: Nabi asks them to watch T20 with tickets

Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced an investigation into an incident on Friday in which large numbers of ticketless fans attempted to storm the Dubai Stadium during the World Cup match between Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan. Dubai police and security forces were forced to secure the stadium and bring in additional measures to disperse the crowd the ICC said in its statement.

Afghan skipper Mohammad Nabi appealed for calm in a statement on social media shortly after the match, asking that fans purchase tickets and watch the rest of the matches in peace. As tickets for the high profile class were sold out, the many fans who thronged the stadium without tickets created difficulties for those who had already purchased them but were unable to enter.

"The ICC, BCCI, and ECB (Emirates Cricket Board) apologise to any fans with valid tickets who were unable to enter the stadium," the ICC statement reads. "The ICC has asked the ECB to undertake a thorough investigation into tonight's events to learn any lessons and will work closely with authorities to ensure there is no repeat of this situation in the future."

Pakistan triumphed over Afghanistan by five wickets in the Group 2 Super 12 match where Afghanistan managed to fight back from a score of 64/5 to 147/6. Pakistan managed to reach the total in 19 overs with Asif Ali proceeding to knock four sixes in the 19 over.