By Jaideep Sarin, IANS
Chandigarh : The fourth one-day international between India and Australia at the picturesque Sector 16 stadium here Monday was not entirely a pleasant experience for at least 17 youngsters who were caught by the police with fake tickets.
Those caught with fake tickets included some girls. They, like others arrested by the police, claimed that they had bought the tickets from the authorised bank counters and did not know how these turned out to be counterfeit.
“What is our fault in this? We bought the tickets from the bank counter. Those who sold us these tickets should be punished. Our hopes of seeing the match have vanished. Plus we have landed in this mess,” said one girl outside the stadium after being caught with a fake ticket.
Deputy superintendent of police S.S. Randhawa said the police were very vigilant about fake tickets.
“We have arrested 17 people so far with fake tickets. We are interrogating them to know where they got these tickets,” Randhawa said.
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ODI a birthday gift for Chandigarh
Chandigarh: The ODI at the Sector 16 Stadium was a good birthday gift for “City Beautiful” Chandigarh. India’s post-independence planned city Chandigarh was inaugurated Oct 7, 1953.
International cricket returns to the Union Territory after a gap of 14 years. The last international match was played here Jan 27, 1993 between India and England. The stadium then fell into disuse as the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) came up with its own facility in nearby Mohali, some 10 km from here.
The stadium got a much-needed facelift only when the Haryana Cricket Association (HCA) decided to hold the match allotted to it at Chandigarh.
The Chandigarh Administration ended up spending over Rs.50 million to renovate and upgrade the stadium. The match itself, held just a day after the heritage festivities of the city Sunday, seemed like a perfect climax to 54 years of the city.
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Empty VIP stands
Chandigarh: Free-loaders of Chandigarh – always wanting complimentary passes for international cricket matches in Mohali and here – showed Monday how reluctant they are about spending money to watch their favourite sport. The VIP stands adjacent to the pavilion looked embarrassingly empty when the match started. Less than half the VIP stands were full.
In contrast, the general stands, were as overflowing as expected. The empty chairs in the VIP area said it all – Chandigarh’s ‘VIP’ cricket lovers come only when given free passes.
Even the VVIP pavilion and its two additional blocks had more spectators because complimentary passes and invites had been handed over by the HCA at the last minute.
Being the administrative capital of Punjab and Haryana and headquarters of the Union territory administration, Chandigarh is full of bureaucrats, police officials, politicians and their hangers on. And going by past experience, none of these believe in buying tickets. They only want free passes!
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Yuvi’s first match on home ground
Chandigarh: Yuvraj Singh is a star in the Indian team and has been playing international cricket for the last eight years. But Monday was special for this stylish left-hander from Chandigarh as he played his first international game on his home ground.
Though Yuvraj plays for Punjab in domestic cricket and has played many games at the PCA Stadium in nearby Mohali, he has never played in his home city.
So when the southpaw stepped out to bat at the fall of opener Sourav Ganguly’s wicket in the sun-bathed stadium, a huge roar went up from the stands. Every time Yuvi’s bat made contact with the ball, the roar became louder and louder.
Unfortunately he scored only 39 runs, leaving his fans a little disappointed. His popularity has skyrocketed since he smashed six sixes in an over in last month’s Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa.