Good news for the cricket fans in Odisha. The iconic Barabati Stadium in Cuttack is all set to host a T20I match against South Africa in June this year.
As per Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) sources, BCCI has allotted a match of the five-match T20I series against the visitors to the historical stadium in the State. The series will commence on June 9.
Barabati had lost out India-West Indies first T20I tie of the three-match series scheduled to be played on February 15 in view of the surge in Covid-19 cases in India. The BCCI was later forced to host the ODIs and T20Is in just two cities – Ahmedabad and Kolkata – in order to maintain a stable bio bubble for players and coaching staff.
The BCCI officials had then assured OCA officials to allot a match of the T20 series against South Africa.
Notably, in 2015, angry fans at the Barabati Stadium had hurled bottles when South Africa outplayed India to win the T20 series. The match was marred by shameful and unruly crowd behavior due to a lackluster show by the Men in Blue. The visitors overhauled the 93-run target with 17-balls to spare to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.