For cricket enthusiasts, Vadodara a pit stop before finale

“We are a group of six and were lucky to get tickets for the match. When we inquired about hotel rooms in Ahmedabad, the affordable hotels were sold out. So we decided to stop over at Vadodara for the night and drive to the venue early in the morning as it is not a big distance… We were able to find inexpensive hotel rooms and may also explore the city for a bit before leaving for the match,” Patil said.

Similarly, software executive Ishani Shetty and her friends travelled to Vadodara from Pune and will head to Ahmedabad by another train early Sunday morning. “The distance between Pune and Ahmedabad is not too much and so when we managed to get tickets almost at the last minute for the match and then also for the train, we decided we would stop over for the night at Vadodara and then head to Ahmedabad. Hotel rooms in Vadodara were priced as usual and so it is also not heavy on our pockets. We have booked ourselves on an early morning train to be in time for the security checks and other processes at the stadium as we are expecting a long queue too,” said Shetty.

Jatin Shah, part of a group of banking executives from Mumbai who has decided to make a pit stop at Vadodara before heading to Ahmedabad by cab Sunday morning, said, “We were expecting a huge rush in Ahmedabad because of the VIP movement. We had decided early on that we would stay at Vadodara. We arrived in Vadodara Friday and also clubbed the visit to Statue of Unity. We will reach Ahmedabad by Sunday 10 am to be in time at the venue and not miss a thing”.

Hotels in Vadodara are mostly booked but the managements say the rush is “normal witnessed during Diwali week”. An executive at a four-star hotel in the city said, “We are almost sold out for this weekend and we are expecting more last-minute bookings due to the cricket match. The rooms are dynamically priced but are affordable. It is difficult to classify if the crowd is for the match or for the ongoing Diwali vacations as many guests are extending their stay beyond the match days, too.”

Another executive of a five-star hotel said it has seen “more than usual” bookings for the weekend. “Guests have checked-in in big numbers this weekend. However, we are not aware of their final destinations. We have many one-night bookings for Saturday and also a couple of guests, who have requested transport assistance to Ahmedabad on Sunday for the match,” the management of the hotel based in Alkapuri said.