A Virat Kohli century (centuries here) can change a lot of things. It can lift a nation’s mood, it can breathe life into a bilateral ODI series that no longer sways public appeal these days, and it can make tickets sell like hot cakes. The initial ticket sale for the Visakhapatnam ODI was cold, making the Andhra Cricket Association deliberate on selling tickets over the counter, having gone fully online this time.
But following Kohli’s hundred in Ranchi on November 30, tickets were sold out in minutes after it went online on December 1 and 3. The price ranged from Rs 1,200 to 18,000, but nothing remained unsold. Y Venkatesh, who is part of Andhra Cricket Association’s Media and Operations team, reveals: “The first phase of tickets went on sale on November 28. The response wasn’t good. But a day before the second phase went on sale, Kohli scored that hundred at Ranchi. That changed everything. All of us know he has an outstanding record here… so when the second and third phase tickets went online, they vanished in minutes.”
His feverish fans cannot wait for the game to start at a venue where he averages 97.83 in seven ODIs. It includes three centuries, a 99 and a 65. Two days before the game, some of them thronged the airport, craning their smartphone cameras to capture him in flesh when he lands. The wait turned longer, as the flight from Raipur got delayed. The security officials, at 2.45, were tired of answering the same question over and over again for the last couple of hours. “When are they landing?” Shot in different dialects and languages. It was not until 6 pm that the flight left Raipur.
The scenes were not quite different at the Raipur Airport. A large irate crowd, those travelling with the Indian team recounted, stopped arguing with the airline officials about delayed flights, and rushed to catch a glimpse of them. As the players took to the escalator, thunderous cheers rang in the airport. From anger to joy, in a Raipur minute, everything changed. Soon, they were on phones telling friends and relatives about how they saw Kohli and co in the flesh. Five minutes later, they were back to haranguing airline officials. Such is the effect of India’s cricketers on the country’s public.
Without the stars, non-metro cities such as Ranchi, Raipur and Visakhapatnam would have struggled to generate any fervour. Last year, when the stadium hosted a Test match between India and England, which Kohli had skipped due to personal commitments, they had to set up hoardings along the National Highway 5 reminding the locals of the match. The story was ditto even for the few IPL fixtures here, where empty seats stared from across the stadium. It’s the big match, the ambitious venue, regular in the calendar but not iconic yet, had been waiting for.
But big games bring big tensions too. With Raipur and Ranchi witnessing incidents of fans bypassing the strong security cover and entering the field of play, especially closer to Kohli, the ACA officials don’t want a repeat. They have been busily passing important messages to the volunteers manning the stadium. “We want to show that Vizag is safe and can be used as a host venue for big events in the future. We have to aspire to host World Cup fixtures like Wankhede (Mumbai) and Chidambaram (Chennai),” an ACA official reminds the volunteers, most of them who are in their 20s.
“We don’t want any sanctions or note from ICC about fan invasion. Be alert at all times. Special private security people (bouncers) are arriving from Mumbai, but it is our duty to make it hospitable,” the official says, before reminding them not to allow even police to get close to the players for a photograph.
The other hot topic of discussion has been the dew factor. The first two matches witnessed heavy dew presence in the second half of the match, which tilted the conditions heavily in favour of the batsmen. But Vizag, being a coastal town, is expected to offer respite. However, going by the conditions on Thursday, it is hard to expect anything less. The air was hazy, and Dew could he felt as early as 6 pm, and the groundstaff duly covered the entire outfield. Since there was rain in the city, there is still a possibility that if there are any showers, it could potentially reduce the presence of dew or delay it.
Whether it dews or not, Vizag is getting ready for its biggest match, and a chance to soak again in the marvels of Kohli, their favourite star.
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
