It has exactly been nine years since the infamous crowd trouble took centre stage in Cuttack on October 5. The unfortunate day witnessed India put up a lacklustre show against South Africa in the second T20I of their bilateral series. The Proteas secured a second win in Odisha to attract the wrath of the home crowd.
The Indian supporters were livid to see the hosts lose the series early with back-to-back defeats. The six-wicket loss at the Barabati Stadium saw the crowd trouble force two interruptions during the play.
The proceedings were held up for nearly an hour during South Africa’s chase. The game had to be stopped after a section of the fans started throwing plastic bottles onto the field out of frustration.
The second T20I match between India and South Africa saw the visitors win the toss and elect to field first.
Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan opened the innings for India but their partnership did not last long. Rohit was dismissed for 22, whereas Dhawan returned to the dressing room scoring 11. Later, Suresh Raina added another 24-ball 22 to help India finish with a 92-run total. South Africa all-rounder Albie Morkel had a memorable outing, putting up figures of 3/12 in his four-over spell.
The innings break witnessed the first incident of throwing bottles after India had registered their lowest T20I total at home.
Following 11 overs of South Africa’s chase in Cuttack, more bottles came raining down onto the pitch.
This time play had to be stopped for 27 minutes. The players remained towards the centre of the ground. The proceedings resumed later with security personnel lining the boundary lines. The added security did not seem to make a difference as a third wave of bottles interrupted the game once again.
Another 24-minute holdup saw the police clear out a large section of the spectators involved in the disruption.
Following a couple of pauses, South Africa played 4.1 overs more to complete their chase and win the series 2-0. The Cuttack incident raised a huge of concern around safety precautions at stadiums, especially during high-profile matches.
The three-match T20I series between India and South Africa eventually finished with The Proteas winning 2-0 as the third fixture was abandoned.
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