Visakhapatnam: Surprisingly for cricket enthusiasts, the Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium in Vizag was only 70 per cent full for the second ODI between India and West Indies on Wednesday.
Only around 20,000 spectators had turned up at the 27,500 capacity stadium when the match started. This was despite India batting first.
The turnout was disappointing in terms of public response for the limited overs matches in this part of the world.
Sources said that it was the first time that the Vizag stadium was not packed with spectators.
Though the Andhra Cricket Association had reduced the higher denomination ticket prices for the match in an attempt to attract crowds, around 30 to 40 per cent of such tickets remained unsold.
The capacity of Vizag stadium is 27,500 and ACA put 90 per cent of the total capacity for sale and distributed 10 per cent tickets among affiliated units and others as complementary.
Lack of enthusiasm for the ODI between a strong India side and a weak West Indies team was the reason for the lower than expected turnout, said P. Mukesh, a cricket fan.
“If India clashes with Australia or South Africa in Vizag, we will witness capacity crowds,” he said.
The authorities of ACA are also clueless about the low turnout for the ODI match in Vizag. It may be recalled that BCCI shifted the second ODI, originally scheduled to be played in Indore, to Vizag following a dispute over distribution of complimentary passes.
Obviously, the recent performance of the visitors was one of the reasons for the low spectator turnout. As the complementary passes were restricted to 10 per cent, the majority of the people were disappointed and they didn’t purchase tickets for the match.
The ticket prices started from '500 and the highest denomination available was for Rs 4,000. The ACA also made available '2,500 and '2,000 tickets.
However, all the higher denomination stands remained empty even when India was batting.
“Though Dhoni disappointed us with his performance, Virat Kohli’s superb century enthralled us,” said L. Ravi Teja, a software professional.
