With cricket happening behind closed doors last year due to Coronavirus, the game’s diehard fans were catching up on their favourite sport either on television or their smartphones.
Therefore, this year when the fans have got a chance to watch cricket live in a stadium, there is no stopping them. Tickets have been sold out in less than an hour for the second Test match to be played between India and England at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, between February 13 and 17.
Tickets for the test match were made available on Paytm and Paytm Insider from February 8.
The first test match between India and England is currently being played at the same venue in Chennai but behind closed doors.
Cricket crazy country
"The tickets (for the second Test match between India and England) have been sold out. In less than an hour, around 10,000 tickets were sold," RS Ramasaamy, Secretary, Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), told Moneycontrol.
Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, which is affiliated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), governs cricket in the state.
While the capacity of MA Chidambaram Stadium is 33,500, less than half of it will be open to the public.
Ramasaamy explained the new arrangement inside the stadium. "Out of the 33,500 seats, we are not using the pavilion side. The lower level pavilion is blocked for families of players because of COVID-19. Then the upper-level pavilion's capacity is restricted to less than 25 percent. So, that leaves us with 28,000 seats out of which only 50 percent can be used. So, around 14,000 seats are available for which we have commitments for our members and BCCI members. Therefore, for the public around 10,000 seats were up for sale and all of it is booked."
The tickets for the game are priced in the range of Rs 100 to Rs 200 per day. Secretary TNCA said they had kept pricing reasonable so that people could come to watch the game in large numbers. After all, cricket has come to India after a year, he reasoned.
A cricket enthusiast who watched the 2016 Test match between India and England in Chennai, said that while he had bought tickets for the game priced at Rs 200, the actual costs were much higher, depending on the stand.
However, this year, for the upper or the lower deck, Rs 200 is the standardised rate.
Safety at the stadium
Talking about safety protocols at the stadium, Ramasaamy said, "We have 17 entrances to the stadium, and we are going to have people manning them with hand sanitisers and temperature checks. Plus, a mask is mandatory. There are medical kiosks on the ground. In addition, we have an isolation room, medical room and we have four ambulances placed on the ground."
While the MA Chidambaram stadium is all geared up to welcome public for the second Test match between India and England, World Cup cricket will not be back to the stadium before October - November this year.
"One portion of the stadium has to be rebuilt as we are redoing it. So, we are hoping to complete that before the World Cup, which is slated for the end of the year," he said.
The T20 World Cup is scheduled to take place in India between October and November this year.
The MA Chidambaram stadium has seen many iconic moments, none more exemplary than organizing a cricket tournament between India and England in just five days, after it was called off due to the 2008 Mumbai bomb blast.
This year too, the stadium will have its historic moment, with Indian fans getting to watch their favourite sport, not from the confines of their room but live at a stadium.