A delay in the arrival of packaged water bottles led to chaos at the MCA Stadium during the second Test match between India and New Zealand on Thursday, prompting some fans to chant slogans against the host association, which later issued an apology for the oversight.
The match, which began on Thursday morning, drew an audience of approximately 18,000.
With much of the seating at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium exposed to the sun, fans rushed to the water stations after the first session, only to discover that no water was available at the booths.
As the crowd grew increasingly frustrated at the booths, they began to voice their discontent towards the MCA. In response, security personnel started distributing packaged water bottles to help alleviate the situation.
MCA secretary Kamlesh Pisal later addressed the media, saying, “Our sincere apologies to all the fans for the inconvenience caused. We will ensure things will be alright going forward. We have already addressed the water issue,” MCA secretary Kamlesh Pisal later told the media.
“This time we (have) decided to provide the spectators with chilled drinking water and there were some sort of logistical issues as some of the stalls ran out of water during the lunch break owing to heavy rush,” he explained.
“It took us 15 to 20 minutes to refill the water containers and since it was delayed, we decided to offer them free bottled water,” he added.
The incident occurred at the Hill End of the stadium, near the media and commentary centers. The situation was eventually contained. It was later revealed that the issue happened because of delay in the arrival of water delivery vehicles, which were reportedly stuck in heavy traffic during the morning rush near the stadium, located on the outskirts of the city.
According to some posts on X (formerly Twitter), fans at the stadium, also known as Gahunje, faced severe drinking water crisis with the heat not making things easier.
One user posted, “NO WATER in the MCA Stadium at Pune. That too in the month of October when there’s scorching HEAT. What’s the point of boasting about stadiums when fans can’t get basic facilities? SHAME!”

Another fan posted, “Ind vs NZ , MCA stadium, it has been 2 hours since the water supply stopped. The vendors are selling 100ml for 80 Rs. @RRPSpeaks Please look into this, almost 4 senior citizens have collapsed because of the dehydration. @BCCI”

Yet another fan posted, “Look at the richest board of cricket who can’t provide basic facilities in the stadium. fans are protesting against not having sufficient drinking water facilities in the MCA stadium. #INDvNZ

A group of fans argued with the security to be allowed re-entry into the stadium while the rules strictly prohibit them from doing so. The situation was brought under control by the tea break.