Rishabh Pant and Temba Bavuma during the toss.
Rishabh Pant-led India and Temba Bavuma's South Africa touched down in Odisha, Bhubaneswar for the second T20I scheduled to be held at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.
India are trailing 1-0 in the five-match T20I series and Sunday's encounter in Cuttack provides an opportunity for the home side to level the series.
"All arrangements have been made to provide foolproof security to the players, and ensure a smooth match on Sunday and practice on Saturday.
The preparations to make necessary arrangements started a month back," Director-General (DG) of Odisha PoliK Bansal said. In a first, a security mock drill was conducted ahead of the international match to avoid any untoward incident.
The two teams landed at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar around 2 pm as hundreds of cricket enthusiasts gathered to welcome them.
Fans gathered in large numbers at the airport, outside their hotel and on both sides of the road between the two places for one glimpse of the cricketing stars.
The players were welcomed at the airport by members of the Odisha Cricket Association and were taken to the hotel in special buses amid tight security.
Tickets have been sold on both the online and offline modes, OCA secretary Sanjay Behera said.
Cuttack Collector BS Chayni said that a large number of VIPs and dignitaries are expected to come to the stadium for the match.
"As the chief minister has been invited, he may come to the stadium too. However, we are yet to receive any official communication in this regard," Chayni said.
