Kolkata: Kolkata, known as the City of Joy, is among the most cricket crazy cities in India. People of this city take great pleasure in watching a keen cricketing contest, especially at the historic Eden Gardens stadium. And if it happens to be an India-Pakistan match, it becomes very special.
From the time the India-Pakistan match was shifted from Dharmasala to Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, fans have been wandering around the stadium trying to buy tickets for this match. From the attendant at the hotel reception, to a taxi driver, or fans on the streets, everyone asks for a ticket, especially if you are spotted with the World Cup media accreditation badge.
Tickets for this high-voltage match on Saturday are being sold through an online portal, BookMyShow.com, the official ticketing agency of the tournament, where people have to register. There will then be an online lucky draw, and the winners will be informed through text messages and email.
So, no one is really ensured of a ticket for this match, and people are referring to their chances of getting a ticket as being as unpredictable as a T20 match. Just like the World Cup team captains have been saying that any team can win, fans are now forced to say that anyone can get their hands on a ticket!
The Cricket Association of Bengal has announced that this will be the first time match tickets will be sold online based on registration and then a lottery. Those who apply are entitled to a maximum of two tickets. This has mainly been done to eliminate the possibility of early birds blocking out the rest from getting tickets. This city is known for fans queueing up as early as 4am, before the ticket counter opens, to buy their tickets.
This match, if held in Dharmasala, would have been witnessed live only by 25,000 fans - but this stadium has a capacity of 66,000 and is the largest stadium in the country.
Five thousand people who had made their booking for the Dharmasala match can get replacement tickets for the Kolkata match. This is the first Twenty20 match to be played between India and Pakistan in Kolkata and fans here do not want to miss it.
Many fans are known to preserve their tickets to show younger generations that they were there at Eden Gardens during those special moments of cricket.
Whenever India and Pakistan have clashed in the UAE, fans cheering for both teams are almost equal in number. However, police here expect only around 100 Pakistan fans to come for the match.
The Indian government had eased visa rules to allow Pakistanis to come to India for the World Cup. A Pakistani scribe told Gulf News that if this match was held in Mohali (situated close to the Wagah border between India and Pakistan) then many more fans could have come. “Kolkata is too far from Mohali and it is unlikely many will come,” the scribe said.
Police here announced that they’ve made necessary arrangements to provide security for the approximately 100 Pakistan fans. It is expected that people from Pakistan will report to the nearest police station immediately on arrival in any new city in India. However, the Indian government has announced that Pakistan fans above 65 and below 15 years of age need not report to a police station. India will collect biometrics of all Pakistan fans entering and exiting the country.
Had the Saturday match been held in Dharmasala, Pakistan fans could have easily come through the Wagah-Attari border. Although some fans may miss the India-Pakistan match, many are expected to watch their team’s Mohali matches against New Zealand on March 22 and Australia on March 25. One of the semi-finals of the World Cup is to be played in Mumbai, and Pakistan will not be playing there due to the anti-Pakistan sentiments of Shiv Sena, a regional political party.
Interestingly, many people who are neither Indian or Pakistan fans, are also trying to get tickets. Many feel that watching an India-Pakistan match at Eden Gardens will be a special experience, especially the atmosphere and excitement.
Incidentally, a few Indian fans in the UAE, after their team’s huge defeat to New Zealand in the first match, are understood to have cancelled their flights for Saturday’s match.
