Date:16/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/16/stories/2008041656972000.htm

Sport - Cricket

IPL ticket sales stalled briefly

Bangalore: A minor skirmish on Tuesday evening briefly stalled ticket sales for the inaugural Indian Premier League match scheduled for April 18.

Ticket sales for the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders, which commenced here on Monday afternoon, ran into rough weather on Tuesday at the counter located on Gate No. 11. A throng of fans grew restless at the counter and as tempers got frayed, the sale of tickets was temporarily suspended and that led to more arguments. A few festoons and a chair were burnt in the melee.

Subsequently the issue was resolved and ticket sales resumed at the counter.

“The barricades were not strong enough and a few jumped the queue and that led to the problem but it has been sorted,” said KSCA secretary Brijesh Patel.

T. Venkat Vardhan, managing director of DNA Networks that is supervising the tournament-launch preparation, said, “A few miscreants created trouble at the counter and burnt a few things. The situation was brought under control in 45 minutes and sales resumed. The public response has been good and tickets are available at the counter as well as at super markets.”