Date:24/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/24/stories/2008112455960200.htm

Other States - Orissa

ODI: cricket lovers throng ticket counters

Correspondent

CUTTACK: Barring a few pavilion and special enclosure tickets, entire gallery tickets for the November 26 India-England ODI available at Barabati stadium for the public were sold out on Sunday.

India’s spectacular performance in the current season and return of Sachin Tendulkar in Team India squad enthuse the cricket lovers who thronged the counters to purchase the match tickets.

Big queues

“Enthusiasts arrived here much before the ticket counters opened at 9 a.m. Some even camped around stadium complex last night and were in the queue before the day broke.

Around 30000 people were in queues at the three counters in the morning,” according to the local police.

All the tickets for Gallery No.1 and 2 priced at Rs. 500 each were over by afternoon while Gallery No. 4 and 5 priced at Rs. 400 were sold out late in the evening, said an office-bearer of Orissa Cricket Association (OCA).

Sources said there were lukewarm demand initially for tickets of special enclosures and two pavilions which are priced at Rs. 1,500, Rs. 3,000 and Rs. 4,000 respectively. But as low-priced tickets exhausted, diehard cricket lovers turned towards the counters selling high price tickets.

“We hope all the tickets available for public sale would be sold out,” said OCA secretary Asirbad Behera. A total of 14455 tickets were available for the counter sale as nearly 8400 tickets are reserved for BCCI sponsors, members and affiliated units, OCA and Orissa Olympic Association (OOA), soft drink advertisers and State associations, Mr. Behera said.

The city police made elaborate arrangements for the smooth selling of tickets knowing fully well that only limited tickets are made available for the general public to purchase while half of stadium’s 31190-capacity have been distributed as complimentary passes.

At least three platoons of force were deployed around the stadium since Saturday evening to ensure that no untoward incident takes place over ticket sale as OCA has a horrible history of ticket black-marketing.

Each person in the queue was allowed to purchase only two tickets.