IND vs SA: Police resort to lathi charge after chaos breaks outside Barabati Stadium for 1st T20I tickets

Cuttack:

Chaos erupted outside Barabati Stadium as massive crowds gathered to buy tickets for the first T20I between India and South Africa. The Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) announced on December 4 that ticket sales would begin on Friday morning, prompting thousands of fans to assemble at the stadium gates on December 5. Although authorities prohibited overnight queues and permitted people to gather only from 6 a.m., an overwhelming number had already arrived by the time counters opened at 9 a.m., making crowd control extremely difficult.

A viral video on X shows the situation deteriorating further, appearing almost stampede-like. Police eventually had to use a mild lathi charge to disperse the crowd and restore order.

This will be Barabati Stadium’s second international fixture of 2025. Earlier in the year, Rohit Sharma’s team played an ODI against England there, drawing a huge turnout. The massive rush for T20I tickets suggests similarly strong interest once again.

India play South Africa in third ODI tomorrow

India will host South Africa in the third ODI on December 6 in Visakhapatnam. After a thrilling win in Ranchi, the KL Rahul-led side suffered a crushing four-wicket defeat in the second ODI in Raipur and will now be hoping to register a win in Visakhapatnam and seal the series. It is extremely important for them to get the job done, given that the team suffered an embarrassing 2-0 defeat in the Test series.

Another defeat will only put more pressure on the team management, under whom the team hasn’t done relatively well in bilateral series. 

Meanwhile, after the ODI series ends, the focus will shift to T20Is, which will begin on December 9 in Cuttack. With the T20 World Cup set to begin in two months’ time, the Suryakumar Yadav-led side will be determined to make an impact and for some players, it is an opportunity to seal their spot in the squad.