The buzz around the Border-Gavaskar Trophy might be focused on the pitch with the biggest talking point leading up to the first day of the series opener being how India have prepared a pitch to put Australian batters to the sword come D-Day.
Australian media may have already given their verdict on the track and quite possibly the match 24 hours before the first ball of the series is to be bowled, but for the cricket fans of the Orange City, the 22-yard strip in the middle at Jamtha has little bearing on their excitement level.
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The Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium is hosting its first Test match in five years and the official word on the number of tickets sold coming is that it will be sold out crowd on 9th Feb. As of writing, nearly 38,000 tickets have been sold and by tomorrow – the first day of the Test match, it is expected to be sold out.
“Nagpur crowd has always been a sporting one and yes, nearly 38,000 tickets have been sold as per official count as of yesterday and we are expecting it will be almost sold out by tomorrow,” a VCA official told CricketNext.com.
“We do not have daily tickets and these figures are for all five days, we only have season tickets. Historically we have managed to pull in almost full crowds for international games” the official added.
The total capacity of the Jamtha is 44,900 and out of which 38,000 tickets have been sold out. Also, 4000 tickets have been given to school students sold at Rs 10 per day.
In 2017 when Nagpur last hosted a Test match with India hosting Sri Lanka for the 2nd Test nearly 39,000 tickets were sold. India had won handsomely by an innings and 239 runs with Virat Kohli scoring a majestic 213 to walk away with a Man of the Match award. The match ended in four days.
Speaking to the media, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma also spoke highly about the VCA stadium and was chuffed to hear the ticket sales numbers.
“Good sign for Test cricket. Feels good that so many people are coming for Day 1. They should come at all the venues, not just Nagpur. It feels great when the crowd turns up. People want to watch good Test cricket,” Rohit said during the media briefing on Wednesday.
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“This is a good ground, big ground. I get good support. There have been good matches here. In India, there are some grounds where it feels good to play. This is one of those. All boys like it here. When you play a Test, you first come and see how the dining room is, changing area is, recovery room is, all facilities are there. You have to be here for eight days for a Test match. All facilities are good here. For recovery also, there is also a lot of space. That is also a factor. Pitch, outfield all great. Support is also good,” he went on to add.
The VCA Stadium has so far hosted six Tests, nine ODIs and 13 T20Is.
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