India (IND) will face South Africa (SA) in the 1st T20I of the series at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Tuesday, December 9. This match is a repeat of the T20 World Cup 2024 final, adding extra excitement to the contest. The all-format tour is in its final stage—South Africa won the Test series, while India claimed the ODI series.

India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, are in excellent form. They recently won the Asia Cup 2025 and also defeated Australia in their own backyard. With the 2026 T20 World Cup not far away, India will aim at carrying on their momentum and make a winning start to the T20I series in Cuttack.

South Africa, however, have been struggling in T20Is lately. They lost their recent series 1–2 against Pakistan and even suffered a shock defeat to Namibia in a one-off match. They also drew a series against England. The Proteas will be desperate to find some rhythm and bounce back in this important series.

IND vs SA: Head-to-Head Record in T20Is

• Matches Played: 31
  
• India Won: 18
  
• South Africa Won: 12
  
• Tied / No Result: 1

IND vs SA: Pitch Report

The Barabati Stadium has hosted three T20Is so far, and South Africa have won both matches they played here. Teams chasing have won two out of three games here, and bowling first could be a smart choice. The pitch does offer help to both pacers and spinners, but bowlers with good variations usually do the work. A score around 160 can be competitive on this ground because dew may not allow the ball to grip much.

See Also: IND vs SA 1st T20I: Suryakumar Yadav confirms Gill and Abhishek as openers, Samson’s role uncertain

IND vs SA: Predicted Playing XIs

India (IND):

Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah

South Africa (SA):

Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi

In the era of digital payments and money transactions, fans had to wait in long lines for a ticket for India vs South Africa 1st T20I outside the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. Videos have been circulating on social media platforms depicting how fans had to struggle to purchase a ticket from the ticket counter.

The first game is scheduled to be played in Cuttack on Tuesday, December 9. Ahead of the match, unusual chaotic scenes were captured from outside the stadium. Security personnel were there to maintain the line. But their effort might have done very little to maintain peace, as, through the video, we can see how the fans were pushing each other to move forward and shout as the counters opened for the general public.

According to a report published by India Today, the Odisha Cricket Administration released only a limited number of seats for public sale before the international fixture, which meant that many supporters were forced to stand in long queues for hours to secure their tickets. But why does the cricket governing body Odisha release a limited number of tickets for the general visitors?

Read More: Ashes 2nd Test: 'Joe Root saved our eyes' - Grace Hayden's hilarious reaction after former England skipper registers maiden ton on Australian soil

Long lines outside Barabati Stadium in Cuttack for offline tickets

It is alleged that the association has issued the majority of the remaining tickets to its members and VIPs. "VIPs get passes. Fans get chaos. Absolute mayhem outside Barabati Stadium for India vs SA T20 tickets. "Forty-one thousand-plus seats at Barabati, and most are reserved as passes," a user wrote on X on Friday, December 5.

VIPs get passes. Fans get chaos.

Absolute mayhem outside Barabati Stadium for India vs SA T20 tickets.

41k+ seats at Barabati.
Most reserved as passes.
Only 2k tickets sold online. Few thousand offline.
Fans left struggling. 🏏💔

pic.twitter.com/0BGVz65ENH

— Manas Muduli (@manas_muduli) December 5, 2025

After the conclusions of a 2-match Test and a 3-match ODI series, India and South Africa will face each other for a 5-match T20I contest. The T20I series will be crucial for both of the teams, as the next T20I World Cup is scheduled to be held in 2026, in the next year. The elite tournament will be hosted in February and March.

India vs England 2nd ODI Live Streaming Details

India and England are scheduled to clash in the second One Day International (ODI) on February 9, 2025. The game will be held at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. The cricketing world is excited about this game because both teams are strong and competitive.indvseng 2nd odi.
India vs England 2nd ODI Live Streaming Details

Match Details:

• Match: India vs England, 2nd ODI
• Date: February 9, 2025
• Day: Sunday
• Venue: Barabati Stadium, Cuttack
• Time: 1:30 PM IST
• Toss Time: 1:00 PM IST

Third ODI

• Date: 12th February, 2025
• Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
• Time: 1:30 PM IST

Toss own by :England opt to bat

Predicted Playing xi :India's Predicted Playing XI for 2nd ODI Against England.

Live Streaming:

IN INDIA:

TV Broadcast: Star Sports Network

• English Commentary:

• Star Sports 2
• Star Sports 2 HD
• Star Sports 3

• Hindi Commentary:

• Sports 18 1
• Sports 18 1 HD
• Colors Cineplex
• Colors Cineplex HD

• Online Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar (app and website)

In the United States and Canada

• TV Broadcast: Willow TV
• Online Streaming: Willow TV App

In the United Kingdom

• TV Broadcast: Sky Sports Cricket
• Online Streaming: Sky Go App

In Australia

• TV Broadcast: Fox Sports
• Online Streaming: Kayo Sports

Trending Highlights of the Match

Virat Kohli's Return: He's missed the first ODI and now the crowd wants him to come back to form.
Rohit Sharma's Form: The Indian captain comes into this match after some low scores and is looking to reclaim his form.
England's Need to Win: England is still at 0-1; win this and stay in the series.
Pitch Conditions at Barabati Stadium: The ground will be spin-friendly, so every strategy by a spin team will count.
Key battles: would be between Rohit Sharma and Jofra Archer, Virat Kohli and Mark Wood

The England team is continuing their tour of India after playing five T20 matches. Now, they are set to play three ODIs starting on February 6th in Nagpur. The second ODI will be held at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on February 9th. Tickets for the match were available online, but for those who couldn't buy them, the Odisha Cricket Association announced offline ticket sales on February 5th and 6th at counters outside the stadium.

Fans started lining up at the counters the night before to get tickets. Thousands of fans were seen waiting in long lines, with many arriving early on the morning of February 5th. The huge rush created a situation like a stampede in which an estimated 15 people were injured, and many were hospitalized.

Also Read: Australian Coach McDonald: Pat Cummins Unlikely to Play, Team Needs New Captain for Champions Trophy 2025

#WATCH | Long queues and chaotic scenes witnessed at ticket counters at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack as thousands of cricket fans lined up to secure a seat for them for the forthcoming India-England clash. With excitement at its peak, security arrangements have been tightened to… pic.twitter.com/Cg1E1Pr7EB

— OTV (@otvnews) February 5, 2025

After this chaos, there was huge criticism for the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) for poor management of ticket sales for the India vs. England 2nd ODI in Cuttack.

Many fans waited overnight outside the stadium to get tickets on the morning of February 5. However, following the backlash, the administration improved arrangements to manage the crowd more effectively.

The last international match played in Cuttack was a T20I on June 12, 2022, against South Africa, while the last ODI was on December 22, 2019, against the West Indies.

The first match of the 3-match ODI series between India and England will be played on February 6th in Nagpur. These 3 matches are the last before the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which starts on February 19th in a hybrid model with Pakistan and India. India will play all their matches in Dubai, with their first match scheduled for February 20th against Bangladesh.