The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Cricket fever grips Hyderabad crowd

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 16, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Cricket fever grips Hyderabad crowd

V.V. Subrahmanyam

Indian players practise at venue; all eyes on Dhoni

HYDERABAD : Even as many die-hard fans are struggling to grapple with the reality of not getting a ticket for the India-South Africa one-dayer at Uppal on November 16, Indian players arrived quietly on Monday evening and increased the cricket fever in the run-up to the big match.

Among the first to check in were M.S. Dhoni, who is the cynosure of all eyes now after his big knocks against Sri Lanka, batting sensations Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag and spinner Murali Karthik. This incidentally will be the maiden ODI at the new exclusive stadium of the Hyderabad Cricket Association.

But big matches in Hyderabad can never be free of controversy and this time round it was no different. Many fans questioned the method and meaning in which the tickets were sold through only two counters of a bank when the demand was predictably on the high side. Compounding their woes was the sight of some of those sections of society in the serpentine queues who may not be even aware of the nuances of the sport.

Reason? Well, some of the smart officials and those directly or indirectly involved in the sale of tickets allegedly seemed to have found the easy wayout by paying these persons some amount to grab tickets only to sell them later at exorbitant rates.

The fans allege that there was a `link' between those selling tickets and some unscrupulous elements.

Many disappointed

At the end of the day it became certain that thousands of genuine fans, who would have loved to buy tickets, were left badly disappointed. "We thought the new stadium, which is said to be a truly world class venue, will accommodate more spectators than the Lal Bahadur Stadium. But the half-complete stadium and the fact that the officials did not help genuine cricket lovers by selling more tickets through the counters, has disappointed us," said Ravinder Reddy, a Law graduate and a keen cricket follower.

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