Overview
- Thousands crowded the stadium gates hours before sales, despite rules allowing queues from 6 a.m. and counters opening at 9 a.m.
- Videos circulating on social media show stampede-like pushing and chaotic scenes outside the venue.
- Police implemented crowd-control measures, with local reports describing a mild lathicharge to disperse the surge.
- Barabati seats over 41,000, yet local reporting says most were allocated as passes, with roughly 2,000 tickets sold online and only a few thousand offline.
- The December 9 T20I opens the India–South Africa series in Cuttack, with expanded security already in place and some outlets speculating that player popularity contributed to the demand.