It was eerily reminiscent of 1996. A sea of bottles being thrown on the pitch. The players first huddling together in the middle before later walking off. The fact that Cuttack is not too far from Kolkata added to the sense of déjà-vu. The only thing missing was Vinod Kambli (or a variation thereof) walking off in tears.

Crowd trouble in India, especially at cricket matches, is not a new phenomenon. Apart from the famous 1996 semi-final incident at Calcutta's Eden Gardens, there have been other incidents – most notably at the same venue in 1999, when the entire stadium had to be emptied after a flare-up during an India-Pakistan Test match. But for those hoping that India had seen the worst of it during the 1990s, this was a rude wake-up-all. For all the criticism of Bangladeshi crowds during India’s recent visit there in the summer, the Cuttack incident ultimately proves that there will often be that one section in a cricket crowd that takes delight in spoiling the game for the vastly well-behaved majority.

India implodes

To come back to the cricket itself, this is not a match MS Dhoni will want to remember. Except for Ashwin’s bowling, absolutely nothing went right for him. After being put in to bat, India imploded after Shikhar Dhawan tried an ugly heave across the line, only to be adjudged leg-before-wicket. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma found themselves involved in a needless mix-up while running between the wickets, with Kohli angrily walking off mouthing his usual obscenities. As if to repay the favour, Rohit Sharma overestimated David Miller’s rocket arm and got himself run out as well. India collapsed to 92, their second lowest score in Twenty20 history. In reply, South Africa lost four wickets but cantered home quite comfortably in the end, the result never in doubt.

On a pitch which aided spin, two spinners created two magical moments. Imran Tahir is a gift to international cricket– there is perhaps no other cricketer who takes as much joy in playing cricket and is not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve. Tahir was a subdued figure at Dharmasala, being hammered to all parts of the ground in his three overs there. But after two overs at Cuttack, Suresh Raina popped a simple catch to Hashim Amla at cover point in Imran Tahir’s third over. And finally, Tahir erupted with that trademark sprint and that full-throated roar, tugging at the team emblem on his shirt. The next delivery was a beauty, teasingly pitched on off stump, getting Harbhajan Singh to push for the ball only for it to sneak past the gap between bat and pad for the death rattle. And off again Tahir went. Is there anyone in cricket currently who celebrates wickets with more gusto?

Ashwin strikes

The second moment was provided by Ravichandran Ashwin, a man who increasingly seems to be getting better with every match he plays. If only he got better support from those around him. After accounting for Hashim Amla in his first over, Ashwin was smashed over his head by South African captain Faf du Plessis twice in two balls, something that might have demoralised lesser souls. An unfazed Ashwin though had the final laugh, outthinking du Plessis with the very next ball where he changed his angle and had the batsman caught while attempting a similar shot.

The crowning moment though was his dismissal of AB De Villiers for the third consecutive time in T20I cricket. In the last ball of his spell, after delivering a series of off-spinners, Ashwin tossed one on a similar line and length, just on off-stump. De Villiers, probably believing it was a routine off-spinner, reached out to tap it towards cover, a little too late to realise that Ashwin had outfoxed him, left, right and centre. It was a cleverly disguised googly and De Villiers was beaten all ends up, the ball squirting past his outside edge to take the off stump. Simply put, it was a dismissal any off-spinner in the world would be proud of.

Unfortunately, those two moments were overshadowed by the incidents that happened afterwards. Predictably, Twitter went on overdrive after the match was stopped with Twitterati coming down heavily on the Cuttack crowd’s behaviour. In light of recent events though, it was probably this tweet that best summed up the state of affairs.