India-South Africa T20 clash in Cuttack: Massive rush at Barabati Stadium as offline ticket sale begins

A massive rush of cricket fans has been witnessed outside Barabati Stadium in Cuttack since Thursday night, with the area turning into a sea of anxious spectators eager to secure tickets for the India–South Africa T20 match scheduled for December 9.

Hundreds of people, many of them young fans, flocked to the venue hours before sunrise, forming long queues that stretched across the stadium perimeter. Despite the biting cold, the crowd kept swelling through the night, with people jostling for space and anxiously waiting for barricades to open.  Many said they had travelled from far-off areas to ensure they didn’t miss out.

To streamline the ticket sale process, the Commissionerate Police implemented a new crowd-control system for the first time. Steel barricades have been set up in a serpentine design, with spectators required to first enter the enclosure near the OCA Cricket Academy and then proceed directly to the ticket counters.

Two separate barricaded lines with a two-foot gap between them have been created for the public, while a three-foot barricade line has been reserved for police deployment. Steel barricades have been installed for nearly 800 metres from the counter area.

The authorities have prohibited fans from queuing outside the counters the previous night. Ticket sales began at 9 am today, and only people purchasing tickets were allowed near the counters, which have been declared a ‘no man’s land.’

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“More people have arrived than the number of tickets available, so I urge them not to crowd. There will be nets on August 8, and fan parks will be set up, where you can watch. People are crowding. The counter will open soon, and CCTVs have been installed,” Cuttack DCP Khilari Rishikesh Dnyandeo said.