Chaos reigned supreme outside the Chinnaswami Stadium here today as police lathicharged thousands of disgruntled fans who had camped outside the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) office to buy tickets for Sunday's high-voltage World Cup showdown between India and England.
Police were seen hitting fans with sticks as chaos broke out among those who had been waiting outside the arena since yesterday to buy tickets from the box office.
"Mad rush is expected for any good match. A lot of people desire to watch the match. About 6,000 tickets have been sold at the gate," said Karnataka State Cricket Association secretary and former India pacer Javagal Srinath.
Only 1,000 tickets out of 45,000 -- the capacity of the stadium -- are for sale, it was learnt.
"We are still waiting for tickets to come back from the ICC and BCCI. If they come back, the only way we can give the public is through net, through Kyazoonga, the official ticketing partner for the event," Srinath said.
He said that it's always difficult to satisfy everyone's needs ahead of such high-voltage clashes.
"We are trying to cover as much as possible. But for a match of this magnitude, even if you double (the capacity) or triple, it's not enough."
The Indian Cricket Board and and the KSCA, meanwhile, have said that the stadium capacity is limited and the International Cricket Council's (ICC) demand for tickets have to be accommodated.
"The biggest challenge we are facing now is trying to meet the expectation of the people, and that's not possible. There is a limit till where we can keep people happy. Beyond that, unhappy people will always say things which we can't answer," Srinath said.
Police were seen hitting fans with sticks as chaos broke out among those who had been waiting outside the arena since yesterday to buy tickets from the box office.
"Mad rush is expected for any good match. A lot of people desire to watch the match. About 6,000 tickets have been sold at the gate," said Karnataka State Cricket Association secretary and former India pacer Javagal Srinath.
Only 1,000 tickets out of 45,000 -- the capacity of the stadium -- are for sale, it was learnt.
"We are still waiting for tickets to come back from the ICC and BCCI. If they come back, the only way we can give the public is through net, through Kyazoonga, the official ticketing partner for the event," Srinath said.
He said that it's always difficult to satisfy everyone's needs ahead of such high-voltage clashes.
"We are trying to cover as much as possible. But for a match of this magnitude, even if you double (the capacity) or triple, it's not enough."
The Indian Cricket Board and and the KSCA, meanwhile, have said that the stadium capacity is limited and the International Cricket Council's (ICC) demand for tickets have to be accommodated.
"The biggest challenge we are facing now is trying to meet the expectation of the people, and that's not possible. There is a limit till where we can keep people happy. Beyond that, unhappy people will always say things which we can't answer," Srinath said.
