Police with batons charged supporters and three people were taken to hospital suffering from heat exhaustion and leg injuries after a crush developed as thousands of fans tried to buy the 7,000 World Cup tickets that went on general sale at 8.30am. Some fans had begun queuing 12 hours earlier as the public allocation went on general sale for the first time. The tickets were sold out within three hours, leaving thousands more disappointed and angry. Police took action when fighting broke out and several casualties were taken away on stretchers.
“They started demanding more tickets, and started trying to get in – because they thought there were more,” said Ratnakar Salunke, the stadium security officer. “But there aren’t so the police had to disperse the people forcibly. It is normal practice, anywhere in India, when people refuse to disperse. It is like that not only for a cricket match but anything – the cinema, for example.”
Security will be tight for England’s second match, on Sunday, with extra measures taken when India play. A bomb exploded outside the stadium before an Indian Premier League match last year, injuring eight people.
After the sterile atmosphere of England’s opening match against Holland, played at a near-deserted VCA Stadium in Nagpur, the players will be left in no doubt this weekend they have really arrived in India.
On Sunday roads around the ground will be closed and a 500-metre exclusion zone set up, with 800 police officers on duty inside the stadium and 1,000 outside. The allocation of tickets has been farcical with supporters angry that so few have been released on general sale because of the number taken by the state associations and sponsors. Only 4,000 are available for the final on April 2.
The scenes in Bangalore yesterday fulfilled the prediction in a letter written by the International Cricket Council’s head of legal affairs and leaked to the Indian media. David Becker warned of the “potential for chaos and physical injury when the box office sales open”.
Tickets are issued by the state association hosting the match, which has led to multiple problems and added to suspicion over the number on public sale.
The online agency handling distribution has not received tickets from several state associations, leaving many who purchased seats empty-handed.
“We have received many complaints from fans who purchased tickets but are yet to receive them despite having paid for these tickets more than six months ago and being informed at the time that these would be couriered to them by early February,” Becker’s letter stated.
A High Court in Delhi yesterday limited the number of complimentary passes for matches held in the city to 10,000 and ordered that in future 30,000 tickets are made available for the general public.
The match against England will be India’s first of the World Cup on home soil and the level of excitement has intensified since their victory over Bangladesh in Dhaka last week.
“There is a limit to how much we can fulfil people’s expectations,” said Javagal Srinath, the secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association in Bangalore. “It is a big challenge but even our hands are tied. For a match of this stature, even if you double or triple the amount of tickets for the public, it won’t be enough. That’s the tradition in India and we expected this mad rush.”
This match was originally scheduled to take place at Eden Gardens in Kolkata but was switched to Bangalore when it became clear renovations to the stadium would not be finished in time.
There are few England fans in India with sales of tour packages slow largely because many supporters appear to have chosen to spend money on trips to Australia for the Ashes instead.
“They started demanding more tickets, and started trying to get in – because they thought there were more,” said Ratnakar Salunke, the stadium security officer. “But there aren’t so the police had to disperse the people forcibly. It is normal practice, anywhere in India, when people refuse to disperse. It is like that not only for a cricket match but anything – the cinema, for example.”
Security will be tight for England’s second match, on Sunday, with extra measures taken when India play. A bomb exploded outside the stadium before an Indian Premier League match last year, injuring eight people.
After the sterile atmosphere of England’s opening match against Holland, played at a near-deserted VCA Stadium in Nagpur, the players will be left in no doubt this weekend they have really arrived in India.
On Sunday roads around the ground will be closed and a 500-metre exclusion zone set up, with 800 police officers on duty inside the stadium and 1,000 outside. The allocation of tickets has been farcical with supporters angry that so few have been released on general sale because of the number taken by the state associations and sponsors. Only 4,000 are available for the final on April 2.
The scenes in Bangalore yesterday fulfilled the prediction in a letter written by the International Cricket Council’s head of legal affairs and leaked to the Indian media. David Becker warned of the “potential for chaos and physical injury when the box office sales open”.
Tickets are issued by the state association hosting the match, which has led to multiple problems and added to suspicion over the number on public sale.
The online agency handling distribution has not received tickets from several state associations, leaving many who purchased seats empty-handed.
“We have received many complaints from fans who purchased tickets but are yet to receive them despite having paid for these tickets more than six months ago and being informed at the time that these would be couriered to them by early February,” Becker’s letter stated.
A High Court in Delhi yesterday limited the number of complimentary passes for matches held in the city to 10,000 and ordered that in future 30,000 tickets are made available for the general public.
The match against England will be India’s first of the World Cup on home soil and the level of excitement has intensified since their victory over Bangladesh in Dhaka last week.
“There is a limit to how much we can fulfil people’s expectations,” said Javagal Srinath, the secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association in Bangalore. “It is a big challenge but even our hands are tied. For a match of this stature, even if you double or triple the amount of tickets for the public, it won’t be enough. That’s the tradition in India and we expected this mad rush.”
This match was originally scheduled to take place at Eden Gardens in Kolkata but was switched to Bangalore when it became clear renovations to the stadium would not be finished in time.
There are few England fans in India with sales of tour packages slow largely because many supporters appear to have chosen to spend money on trips to Australia for the Ashes instead.
