Cuttack: The only time South Africa played at Barabati Stadium, they would have had mixed feelings. Though they won that match – the second T20 International against India on October 5, 2015 –to seal the three-match series, their admirable feat got overshadowed by unsavoury incidents involving the crowd.
It was one of those nights that Odisha’s sports-loving public would want to erase from the history books.
Upset and angry to see MS Dhoni’s star-studded batting line-up fall like a pack of cards to be 92 all out in 17.2 overs, a section of the capacity crowd threw plastic water bottles to the ground during the innings break.
The bottles were quickly cleared by ground staff and South Africa began their chase of 93 on time. At the end of the 11th over, though, it started raining bottles on the ground once again. Umpires had to stop play as fielders near the boundary line were disturbed.
By the time Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) officials and police personnel managed to bring the situation under control, more than 25 minutes had elapsed. The South African batsmen returned to the middle, looking to knock off the remaining runs and surpass the paltry target.
Just two more overs could be completed before the bottle-hurling resumed.
This time, it resulted in a 24-minute stoppage.
Luckily, better sense prevailed and the match could be completed after a forced delay of about 50 minutes.
Not more than a 100 people in a crowd of around 40,000 was guilty that night, but it was Cuttack and Odisha which got a bad name.
Some experts were more critical than others in condemning the incident. Most scathing among them was former India captain and legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar.
“The venue deserves to be banned from hosting international matches for two years and the annual subsidy provided to the OCA should be stopped since quite clearly a strong message has to be sent,” Gavaskar told a TV channel.
Then-OCA president Ranjib Biswal said what happened can’t be justified, but observed that about 100 people created trouble, “ones with sick minds.”
The solution, according to him, was to further plug loopholes in security arrangements and not ban the venue.
Thankfully for Odisha cricket, BCCI didn’t pay heed to Gavaskar’s suggestion.
Fifteen months later, the Barabati crowd redeemed itself by displaying its best behaviour during the ODI against England. Two more matches – a T20I against Sri Lanka in December 2017 and ODI against the West Indies in December 2019 – have since been played without any untoward incident.
Stringent measures adopted by the organizers and police have helped.
Even for Sunday’s match, objects that can be used as projectiles such as water bottles, lighters, matchboxes and helmets, are banned inside the stadium. That will go a long way in ensuring that the infamous bottle-throwing incident is not repeated – even if their favourite cricketers flop and Team India fail to get the desired result.
