The first day of ticket sale for the India-Australia One Day International (ODI) at JSCA’s International Sports Complex in Ranchi was marred by some unruly locals in the first half of Sunday resulting in detention of a 25-year-old man and subsequent police reinforcement at the stadium.
The delinquent, identified as Ankur Kumar, reportedly misbehaved with the security staffs deployed and created a ruckus outside the ticket counter. Policemen deployed at the spot said that the police had to intervene after he turned violent.
Around 60 Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP) Jawans carrying batons in their hands were deployed at the spot at around 12 noon to prevent further chaos during ticket sale. “Only the district police were deployed here since morning. We were sent to the stadium as reinforcement in the afternoon after some fans resorted to unruly behavior and hooliganism,” said a JAP Jawan deployed at the counter.
Kumar send in custody to Dhurwa Police Station till the time this report was filed. The officer in-charge of the police station said that necessary actions will be taken against him as per the law.
The detained man is a resident of Dhurwa and was trying to buy 25 tickets in bulks worth Rs 1,000 each, police said.
Nevertheless the enthusiastic fans formed a beeline at the ticket counters since 6 am on Sunday. The counters opened at 9 am and some fans could not get their tickets until evening despite standing in the queue. All the fans had to buy their tickets from the counter as the JSCA has not made the tickets available online this time.
Cricket might be a gentleman’s game, but the fan-following of the sport among women was quite evident at the ticket counters.
The queue at the separate ticket counter for women was in no way shorter than the one for men.
“We are in the queue since 7 in the morning. It is already 2.30pm and we are yet to reach the counter,” said Pooja Kumari, 19, a college student who happens to be a diehard fan of Hardik Pandya.
Behind Pooja stood Gayatri Devi, a 46-year-old homemaker from Dhurwa whose objective behind buying the tickets was only to get a glimpse of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in flesh and blood. “Despite living in the same city, I never had an opportunity to see Dhoni in flesh and blood. I want to see him once in the blue jersey before he retires,” she said.
At least 9, 565 tickets were sold by the time the ticket counters closed on Sunday, officials from the JSCA said.
The minimum price of a ticket for the match is Rs 900 and the maximum is Rs 8,000. Besides, tickets for Rs 1,000, Rs 1,200, Rs 1,500, Rs 3,000, Rs 4,500 and Rs 5,000 are also available. All the tickets at Rs 3,000 and above include complimentary meal for the fans, JSCA officials said. The stadium, which has a seating capacity of 40,000, will host a day-night match on March 8.