Visakhapatnam: Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) expressed confidence that there will be over 27,000 people at the Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA stadium in Vizag city on December 17 when India clash with Sri Lanka in the ODI match under floodlights as the third and last match in the series, a decider match for the series win for both the teams. But, cricket lovers in the region say that absence of Virat Kohli would have an impact on the higher denomination ticket sale.
Like all previous international cricket matches in Vizag, ACA expects this one to be another houseful affair despite the absence of Virat as there are others like Rohit Sharma, M.S. Dhoni and Pandya who are always crowd pullers. The sale of tickets for the third ODI match between India and Sri Lanka to be played in Vizag, commenced on Tuesday. Tickets are available from 11 am to 6 pm at SSN Bakery, Maddilapalem, Fresh Choice Bakery Walt-air, Indira Priyadarshini Stadium Port Area in the city and Police Barracks at Jagadamba Junction.
T. Anil Kumar said that Rs 500 denomination tickets were sold out at the counters within minutes as very few tickets of that category were kept for sale. There was some demand for the Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,800 ticket for the match but the response to higher denomination tickets such as Rs 2,500, Rs 3,500 and Rs 6,000 was not very encouraging.
As Vizag is hosting an ODI after a gap of one year, all the tickets including the higher denomination will be sold out in a couple of days, said administrators of the ACA. Vizag pitch was almost prepared for the game and according to sources, it is going to be a pitch full of runs.
The ACA-VDCA stadium in Vizag has proved most lucky for Team India as India won five of the six ODIs in the stadium besides one Test match and one T-20 match. Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored his maiden one-day international century (148) in Vizag in 2005 against Pakistan and Vizag is the happy hunting ground for Team India, said G. Venkatesh, a cricket lover in Vizag.
