Chandigarh ODI: Fans lament poor ticket sales

Ahead of the fourth India-Australia ODI in Chandigarh, the cricket fans are facing difficulties in getting tickets which they blame to poor management.

Chandigarh, Oct 6 : Ahead of the fourth India-Australia ODI in Chandigarh, the cricket fans are facing difficulties in getting tickets which they blame to poor management.

Hundreds of fans from different parts of the country, particularly from northern region, have landed in Chandigarh over the past few days to book tickets for the Monday's match. Despite staying overnight at the stalls, most say they fail to buy the tickets since the counter remains open for a brief period only.

"People at the stalls tell us to come the next day. Even after coming here for the past two days we are not getting tickets," said Paras, a cricket fan.

Sushil Kumar, a cricket fan, who came here from Himachal Pradesh, said only people with contacts were able to buy tickets.

"I did not get the tickets. I'll wait for one more day. The process (ticketing) is not good. Only influential people are getting tickets," he said.

However, I S Sandhu, Director Sports of Chandigarh, blamed the huge gap between the demand and supply of tickets behind the problems faced by cricket fans.

"Seeing the enthusiasm of the spectators, I believe that the number of tickets are going to be totally outnumbered, because the spectators are more than the seats available in the stadium," Sandhu said.

The Sector 16 Stadium in the city is being spruced up to host the match, which last hosted an international match in 1992-93, when India beat England.

New pavilions are being constructed and existing ones being expanded to fit in more seats.

Chandigarh is also the hometown of Yuvraj Singh, whose brilliant performance in the ongoing series and the recent Twenty20 World Cup has raised expectations among his fans.

Australia is leading the series by 2-0.

ANI