IND v SA 2025: WATCH- Massive crowds outside Barabati stadium cause chaos for tickets for first T20I in Cuttack

The five-match T20I series will begin on December 9 in Cuttack.

The Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, which will host the first T20I between India and South Africa on December 9, saw a huge crowd conjure for tickets that led to chaos erupting as police forces tried to bring order.

Fans started assembling after midnight, causing severe congestion by dawn, even though police forbade overnight lines and only permitted lines to form starting at six in the morning. The gathering had grown to thousands by the time the counters opened at nine in the morning.

Social media videos that have gone viral depict scenes of fans surging through barricades in a frantic attempt to get tickets, resembling stampedes. In order to manage the growing mob, police had to use a light lathi charge.

This enormous attendance shows the craze for cricket big games in Cuttack. The last international match in Cuttack happened when India defeated England by four wickets in an ODI in February 2025. India last played a T20I against South Africa here in 2022. The visitors triumphed by four wickets while defending 149.

After the opening T20I of the five-match series in Barabati on December 9, the teams move to New Chandigarh (Dec 11), Dharamsala (Dec 14), Lucknow (Dec 17), and finish in Ahmedabad (Dec 19).